Tag: Jessie Bates

10 potential Jets free agent targets who could be franchise tagged

There’s a chance some of the Jets’ top free agent targets don’t hit the open market. A look at some franchise tag candidates:

Free agency is the time for the Jets to pay for quick fixes at positions of need.

There are a lot of great targets for the Jets this spring, but not all impending free agents will hit the open market. Some teams will franchise tag their best players in the hopes of keeping them around on a cheaper, one-year deal, giving themselves more time to negotiate a long-term extension, or facilitating a trade with another team.

Here are 10 potential Jets free agent targets who could be franchise tagged before they hit the open market.

Inactive Vernon Hargreaves costs Bengals after interception

Vernon Hargreaves with a foolish appearance in Super Bowl 56

There probably wasn’t a pro bet for someone not in uniform being penalized.

However, it happened in the second quarter of Sunday’s Super Bowl 56 between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.

Jessie Bates made a nice interception of a Matthew Stafford pass intended for Van Jefferson in the end zone.

The Bengals, not content just to have a turnover, had to go into celebratory antics.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, one of the people who decided to join the party was inactive DB Vernon Hargreaves.

That’s a no-no and Cincinnati had to start its next drive at the 10 instead of the 20.

The Bengals wound up having to punt after starting deep in their territory.

The penalty was half the distance, for 10 yards, not 15.

 

Seahawks should be watching these 4 pending free agents in Super Bowl LVI

Here are four pending free agents who the Seahawks should be watching closely as the Rams and Bengals play in Super Bowl LVI tonight.

It’s a long-standing NFL tradition for free agents that just played in the Super Bowl to sign lucrative deals with other teams. While that doesn’t always work out well for his new team, there are usually a few legitimate stars that are worth paying extra attention to during the big game.

Here are four pending free agents who the Seahawks should be watching closely as the Rams and Bengals play in Super Bowl LVI tonight.

Patrick Mahomes pressed his luck once too often on Chiefs’ final drive

Taking risks is part of Patrick Mahomes’ greatness, but in this AFC Championship game, the gunslinger game caught up to him in the end.

When Patrick Mahomes hit Mecole Hardman for a three-yard touchdown pass with 5:04 left in the first half, the Kansas City Chiefs held a 21-3 lead over the Cincinnati Bengals, and it looked for all the world that Mahomes and his crew were headed to their third straight Super Bowl.

But the Bengals roared back in championship form, tying the game with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. Joe Burrow threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals converted the two-point try, and it was 21-21 at that point.

The key play came from Cincinnati defensive tackle B.J. Hill, whose tip interception set the Bengals up for that score.

B.J. Hill’s spectacular Big Man INT leads to Bengals tying Chiefs in AFC Championship game

The two teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter — Harrison Butker’s 44-yard field goal with time expiring sent things into overtime with a 24-24 score. When the Bengals lost the overtime coin toss, and Mahomes got the ball first… well, we were probably all thinking the game thing, right?

This game is over. 

But Mahomes made two killer mistakes on his first and only overtime drive. He managed to avoid paying for the first, and he paid dearly for the second.

On the second play of overtime, Mahomes tried to hit receiver Demarcus Robinson on a slant, cornerback Eli Apple jumped the route, and had Apple held onto the ball here, this was a pick-six, and your ballgame in the other direction.

So, Mahomes wriggled his way out of that one. But on the very next play, Bengals safeties Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell bracketed receiver Tyreek Hill downfield, and the two defenders combined to make an incredible, game-clinching interception.

On the replay, you can see the great job Bates did of getting his hand in to deflect the ball to Bell without committing pass interference. If sacks can be split between defensive players, this was a case where the interception should have been split between Bates and Bell.

Burrow drove his team downfield, and with 9:26 left in overtime, rookie kicker Evan McPherson booted the 31-yard field goal that sent the Bengals to their first Super Bowl since the end of the 1988 season.

As for Patrick Mahomes, he now has the entire offseason to get over those throws that went the wrong way.

It doesn’t take much at all when you’re trying to get to the Super Bowl. Whether you’re on the right side or not.

Jessie Bates texted Geno Atkins about re-joining Bengals for playoff run

Jessie Bates wants Geno Atkins back on the Bengals for the playoffs.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have a serious problem with injuries at defensive tackle right now ahead of the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

And safety Jessie Bates has the solution — call up modern Bengals great Geno Atkins.

It’s a fan theory that started making the rounds on Saturday night after the team’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Turns out it is not just fans — Bates says he shot Atkins a text about re-joining the team on Saturday night.

So far? No text back from the man known as Geno Sacks.

Here’s ESPN’s Ben Baby capturing the moment on Sunday:

Atkins, a modern franchise great, spent 2010-2020 with the Bengals, appearing in eight games last year. He spent the offseason getting healthy and was declared ready to sign with a new team last July, but never surfaced anywhere.

With Larry Ogunjobi, Renell Wren, Mike Daniels and Josh Tupou dealing with injuries, Atkins returning to provide some depth and pass-rush would not just be a great moment for him and fans — it’d be a big help.

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1 pending free agent each NFL team should bring back in 2022

NFL free agency 2022 starts just over two months from now. Here’s a look at who teams should keep among their pending free agents.

NFL contracts not signed beyond 2021 expire at 4 p.m. ET March 16, meaning that teams have from the end of the season until that time to sign their pending free agents to contract extensions. A few will get tagged (the franchise tag period begins Feb. 22), some will get extensions, but it’s a good bet most of the players set to reach unrestricted free agency will do so.

But if we were in charge, these are the players we’d keep — one per team as decided by the NFL Wire staff.

8 Bengals who pose biggest threat to Chargers

Highlighting key Bengals players who could make it difficult for the Chargers.

The Los Angeles Chargers take on the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Here are a few Bengals players who the Bolts must hone in on to increase their chances of coming out victorious in Week 13.

QB Joe Burrow

The Chargers roughed up Burrow in his professional debut, limiting him to just 193 passing yards and picking him off. Since then, he’s grown into one of the more efficient passers, even after missing most of his rookie campaign with a knee injury. Engineering the No. 6 offense in terms of scoring, Burrow is completing 69.3% of his passes, with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

RB Joe Mixon

It appeared that the Chargers were starting to perform well against the run consistently, but then they came back to life against the Broncos, allowing 147 rushing yards on 33 carries. Now, they’re set to face a back that’s coming off a career performance. Mixon rushed for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns on 28 attempts. He has found the end zone 13 times this season.

WR Ja’Marr Chase & Tee Higgins

One of the Chargers’ issues recently has been the cornerback play. Unfortunately, the team won’t catch a break, going against a young, ascending duo. Chase has 50 receptions for 906 yards and nine touchdowns, while Higgins is coming off his best performance of the season, finishing with six catches for 114 yards and one score.

DT D.J. Reader

The strength of the Bengals’ defense is against the run, allowing just 93.7 rushing yards per game. Leading the group in this department is Reader. Reader, Cincinnati’s highest-graded defender by Pro Football Focus (83.4), has 18 run stops. However, he is just as effective at getting after the quarterback, amassing 19 pressures.

EDGE Trey Hendrickson

There are plenty of premier pass rushers in the NFL, but one that seems to fly under the radar is Hendrickson, who is on a tear this season. Hendrickson has 10.5 sacks (fifth), 53 pressures (second), an 18.5% pressure rate (first), five turnovers from pressure (first), and three forced fumbles (third). In addition, he has the most consecutive games with a sack in Bengals history (7).

S Vonn Bell & Jessie Bates

The Bengals have a secondary that features two stud safeties capable of stressing offensive coordinators. The hard-hitting Bell has 21 run stops, two forced fumbles, and a career-high five tackles for loss. Bates, on the other hand, will make quarterbacks pay if they throw deep, possessing the range and play-making ability.

Bengals’ Zac Taylor talks about Jessie Bates’ contract comments

Zac Taylor has thoughts on Jessie Bates’ recent comments.

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After the bye week, Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates made a pretty interesting admission — his lackluster first half of the season was, in part, due to his contract situation.

Bates didn’t get a big-money extension like some might’ve expected and he said it had a negative impact on his play.

Asked about Bates’ comments, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said the following:

“I think that players that are able to be accountable they’re usually the ones that are easier to deal with, because they understand the message that’s being delivered. Their hardest on themselves and that’s what makes Jessie such a great player is that he knows he capable of being one of the top safeties to play this game in a long time. That’s his standard for himself, so when guys like that feel like they’re not living up to their standard they’re hard on themselves. I didn’t hear what his answer was, but that’s why you like coaching guys like that, because they’re mentality is they’ve always got to get better.”

Bates is a pretty good example of the locker room culture the Bengals have been trying to build for the last two and a half seasons now. While his play hasn’t been great, the fact he’s willing to get in front of a mic and publicly own it says it all.

And the Bengals will need Bates to experience a quick turnaround if the team is to avoid its typical post-bye letdown that has a way of derailing seasons.

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10 players from PFF’s list of the top-50 2022 free agents who should interest the Eagles

2022 free agency: 10 players from #PFF’s top 50 list who should interest the Philadelphia #Eagles

NFL free agency is just around the corner and even as the Eagles chase a playoff spot, it’s never too early for a look ahead to potential targets.

The Eagles will have three first-round picks in the 2022 draft process, and you can argue that Howie Roseman should use all three picks on defensive players.

Philadelphia will have plenty of cap space as well and that could make for a very action-packed spring full of deals and transactions. PFF recently released their top-50 free agent’s list, and we’ve highlighted 10 players that Howie Roseman should target.

Bengals’ Jessie Bates says contract status has had impact on his play

One of the league’s best safeties made an honest assessment.

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Over the first half of his 2021 season, Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates hasn’t looked like a guy who was in contention to be the NFL’s top-paid safety this past offseason.

Bates has gone from being one of the NFL’s top-graded defenders to sitting on a 55.6 PFF grade over eight games. Where he would make splash plays last year, he’s been one of the defensive stars who just hasn’t made a play consistently when the unit desperately needs it.

And Bates says some of the problem has been his approach to the season after a contract extension didn’t happen, as captured by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“I think it kind of goes into everything. I feel like I’m at a better head space now than I was at the beginning of the season. So caught on to proving the wrong people right and the main thing I should be focusing on is proving the right people right as far as my coaches, my teammates, my family and not worry about all of the other stuff. I know that’s going to work out, I know what type of player I am, that stuff’s going to work out regardless. But like I said I’ve got to be better for this team, so I’m excited for it.”

Bates says he spent the bye week getting his mind right and addressing this issue, which he hopes leads to a return to form.

It’s an admirable, honest admission from a star player in a league that overvalues keeping things vague and secretive. It might not help his agent get leverage in extension talks, but neither will the poor play.

If nothing else, Bates’ teammates need him to get back to being that elite presence on the back end of the defense if the unit is to pull itself out of a miserable two-game collapse.

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