The Cincinnati Bengals made it clear back in March that they wouldn’t forget names like Tee Higgins and Logan Wilson when it came to high-profile contract extensions this summer.
True to their word, the Bengals wrapped up Wilson for the long-term on a four-year extension.
And there’s one word for the details surrounding the news: Steal.
With the move, the Bengals retain one of the NFL’s most productive off-ball linebackers (seven interceptions over three seasons, for starters). They retain something — a three-down ‘backer — they have had a brutal time finding, drafting and keeping. Keep in mind the extension tacks on to his rookie contract, so he’s in town through the 2028 season now.
And while some fans might panic at the idea of doling out this much cash to Wilson after already paying Germaine Pratt this year, look at it this way: The team will pay a million-per-year number to this duo that will effectively match what the Ravens will pay Roquan Smith alone.
The Bengals do this knowing that the younger, long-term core of the defense is Wilson, Pratt, Myles Murphy, Cam Taylor-Britt, DJ Turner and Dax Hill and that names like DJ Reader and Chidobe Awuzie could be gone as soon as next offseason.
Consistency in the heart of the defense, especially with guys who can handle on-field headsets, is a big deal on the chance coordinator Lou Anarumo finally gets his shot as a head coach elsewhere, too.
For those worried about what this means for Tee Higgins…it’s not much. Reader and Awuzie were just mentioned for a reason. Joe Mixon just took the pay cut for a reason. It’s safe to suggest by now that younger guys like CTB, Zach Carter and others will take over in those spots after 2023 so that the front office can indeed shift a boatload of cash to Higgins.
Then there’s Joe Burrow, of course. This doesn’t impact him all that much, either. Rest assured there’s a chunk of cash that will, when structured properly, make Burrow the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history. That’s a matter of when, not if, and the order of these deals isn’t all that worrisome. Get the easier ones out of the way, perhaps, but not concerning.
With the Wilson deal, the Bengals move another step closer to guaranteeing the Super Bowl window stays open for as long as possible. It’s another savvy move to strike while the linebacker market is a bit down, enabling them to keep Pratt and Wilson. It’s even structurally sound, likely spreading the biggest numbers of the cash into signing bonuses that don’t hurt cap space.
In all, it’s another proper, savvy move by a front office that just keeps making the right ones to win long-term.
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