INDIANAPOLIS — The Cincinnati Bengals appear to be extending an olive branch to their star receiver.
Perhaps it will settle their future with All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase after attempts to reach a long-term deal last offseason proved fruitless.
Bengals top executive Duke Tobin said Tuesday that Chase is “always going to be our priority.” And Tobin suggested the team will put its money where their mouth is.
“He’s a fantastic football player,” Tobin said from the NFL scouting combine. “He’s going to end up being the No. 1 paid non-QB in the league. We’re there. Let’s get it done.
“The earlier we can do some of this stuff, the more it frees us to build the rest of the team.”
The receiver market took a turn last year after the Minnesota Vikings awarded Justin Jefferson a four-year extension worth $140 million. Chase and Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb each declined to participate in training camp practices afterward in search of their similar deals, Chase holding “in” while Lamb held out.
The Cowboys and Lamb reached a four-year extension worth $136 million before the season’s start. The Bengals and Chase’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, did not find common ground.
Now, Tobin appears to expect to pay Chase more than $140 million in maximum value, more than $35 million per year or most likely both.
The NFL has told teams that its salary cap will balloon from $255.4 million in 2024 to a 2025 mark between $277.5 and $281.5 million. So it’s possible Chase could reset raw numbers while not costing a larger percentage of the team’s salary cap than his counterparts did at the time of their signing.
The Bengals are navigating contract negotiations for Chase, his fellow receiver Tee Higgins and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.
Higgins is more urgent receiver priority, Tobin said, as he is set to hit free agency if not at bare minimum designated with the franchise tag. But Chase is the most necessary in the Bengals’ mind.
After the Bengals and Chase failed to reach an agreement entering the 2024 season, Chase earned the receiving triple crown in 2024, leading the league in all three major categories with 1,708 receptions and 17 touchdowns on 127 catches.
Since he entered the league in 2021, Chase leads the league with 46 receiving touchdowns while his 5,425 receiving yards rank third behind Jefferson’s 6,032 and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s 5,707.
Tobin said he didn’t begrudge Chase waiting to do his extension even as he hopes to close the deal soon.
“He changed his mind, which is fine,” Tobin said. “We understood. There’s not hard feelings in this stuff. I don’t get angry about this stuff. It’s just business. We’re looking out for the 53 players on this team and a lot of times, they’re looking out for the one.
“It’s their agent’s job to look out for the one and they have to understand it’s my job to look out for the totality.”
