Bengals S Jessie Bates’ contract is set to expire after the current season, yet he is hoping to remain with the team and views himself as an integral part of Cincinnati’s defense.
“Anytime it’s a new contract extension or anything, you get very excited, but like I said, I made a change with my agent last year for this reason,” Bates said, via Laurel Pfahler of the Dayton Daily News. “I think a lot of guys focus too much on it, but I feel very comfortable with the change that I made. He knows what he’s doing. It’s not his first time doing it.
“Obviously, I feel like I’m a core piece in Cincinnati. My family is three hours away, so I would love to be here. My main goal is to take that next level that I keep saying as a leader on this team. The money part of it will come. I just want to win. That’s all I care about is winning. The money part of it will come. Not just for me, but for everybody in this program.”
Broncos S Justin Simmons is at the top of the market in terms of annual salary at $15.2 milion, so Cincinnati will likely have to come close to this or maybe even beat it to re-sign Bates. It’s worth mentioning that they will have their franchise tag available next year if need be.
Bates, 24, is a former second-round pick of the Bengals back in 2018. He’s currently in 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 in 2022.
In 2020, Bates appeared in all 16 games for the Bengals and recorded 109 tackles, three interceptions, a forced fumbles and 15 pass deflections.
We have him included in our Top 50 – 2022 NFL Free Agents List.
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