Bengals & S Jessie Bates Unable To Reach Deal Before Deadline

According to Josina Anderson, the Bengals and S Jessie Bates were unable to reach an agreement on an extension before Friday’s franchise deadline. 

Anderson adds that Bates has no intention of reporting to training camp nor playing under the franchise tag. 

Ian Rapoport reports that Cincinnati’s final offer to Bates only guaranteed $4 million more than what he would earn on the franchise tag. 

Bates was tagged back in March but he did not sign the tender. It was reported that he had “no intention” of playing under the deal and he made it clear he’s looking for an extension that puts him at or near the top of the safety market.

Last week, Mike Garafolo reported that Bates is unlikely to be in attendance for the start of training camp on July 26 without a long-term deal and didn’t expect the two parties to reach a deal before the deadline.

The Steelers locked up S Minkah Fitzpatrick to a deal that will pay him $18.24 million per season, but Garafolo didn’t think the Bengals would go that far to get a deal done with Bates.

Bates would make $12.9 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season under the franchise tag. 

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 was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2022 when the Bengals placed the franchise tag on him worth $12.911 million fully guaranteed. 

In 2021, Bates appeared in 15 games for the Bengals and recorded 88 tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery, and four pass deflections.