Bengals S Jessie Bates is line to be one of the best available free agents this offseason and is a candidate for the franchise tag.
However, Bates makes it clear he would prefer a long-term extension to the franchise tag.
“That’s a conversation I think that we’ll have with my agency and my team,” Bates said Wednesday during an appearance on “NFL Now.” “I put a lot of trust in them with this whole process. I’m just trying to stay focused, control what I can. We’ll see. Hopefully, I’m not under a franchise tag. That’s something that needs to be discussed as NFLPA a little bit. Some of the top guys got hurt under a franchise tag. It’s tough; you only get one shot at this. You just got to play your cards right, I guess you could say.”
Bates says he is focused on becoming the highest-paid safety in the NFL.
“I’m not too worried about the ego part of being the highest-paid safety, but I do know value over cost,” Bates said. “That is something that not just myself but my agency, my team, that we’re going to continue to evaluate over the next couple weeks.”
Bates is looking forward to being back with the Bengals.
“I know what type of men are in that locker room, along with the guys that are leading us. We have awesome coaches,” Bates said. “I look forward to being a Cincinnati Bengal, but we’ll see what happens.”
The Bengals and Bates were reportedly hoping to get an extension done before last season, but talks eventually broke down.
The franchise tag is projected to cost teams around $13.5 million for the safety position this offseason.
Bates, 25, is a former second-round pick of the Bengals back in 2018. He played out the final year of his four-year rookie contract worth $4,947,818 that included a signing bonus of $1,678,412.
Bates will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
In 2021, bates appeared in 15 games for the Bengals and recorded 88 tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery and four pass deflections.
We have him included in our Top 100 – 2022 Free Agents list.
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