Jessie Bates is one of the better young safeties in the league, though, heading into his fifth season, perhaps he’s not so young anymore. And perhaps he’s not going to be a Cincinnati Bengal much longer. For the moment, he is slated to play the 2022 season under the franchise tag, and is doesn’t seem all that likely that a long-term deal will be reached before next week’s deadline.
Mike Garafolo reports that “there isn’t a lot of optimism the Bengals and Jessie Bates will bridge the gap between the tag ($12.9m) and the top of the safety market ($18m+) between now and next week’s deadline”.