After the Bengals slapped safety Jessie Bates with the franchise tag, there was optimism that the two sides would eventually agree to an extension. However, USA Today’s Tyler Dragon reports (on Twitter) that the Bengals and Bates have not engaged in extension talks.
After working towards a contract extension over the past two years, Bates was ultimately tagged by the Bengals in March, locking the defensive back into a $12.911MM salary for the 2022 campaign. Bengals executive VP Katie Blackburn acknowledged that the two sides had gotten close to an extension, and she hinted that the front office could eventually reengage with Bates’ camp. The Bengals have until July 15 to sign the 25-year-old to a new deal.
“We obviously tried to get him re-signed last year,” Blackburn said.“Thought we had a good chance of getting that done but it didn’t quite get there. I think they wanted to see where the market went in free agency and at some point, we’ll circle back with him…
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