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The long-awaited news concerning the Cincinnati Bengals and star safety Jessie Bates has arrived.
It’s a franchise tag for Bates, reported on Monday by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The Bengals had until Tuesday to make such a move before the window to tag players closed leaguewide closed. A report over the weekend had made it sound like this was a foregone conclusion. The Bengals aim to use the extra time bought by the tag to keep working out a long-term deal.
Bates, a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2018, blossomed into one the league’s best safeties in 2020, even registering an elite 90.1 PFF grade. He predictably regressed in 2021, perhaps moreso than expected, to the point he admitted he was having problems. But he rebounded to elite status in the playoffs and was a huge part of the Super Bowl run.
Even if Bates and the Bengals don’t come to a long-term agreement in the coming months, he’ll play the season under the tag before facing a similar outlook in roughly a year.
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