Pros and cons of the Bengals extending Jessie Bates

The Cincinnati Bengals face many challenges over the next three to four seasons when it comes to the way they will have to distribute and spend money to keep a lot of young core players together. Star safety Jessie Bates is one of them.

This offseason, many wanted a long-term deal for Bates, including his teammates and a lot of the fanbase, but Cincinnati decided to use the franchise tag instead on Bates, which will still pay him roughly $13 million per year; the only problem that Bates is facing is the stability behind the deal being only a one-year deal.

Here are five pros and cons to extending Bates.

Pros of extending Jessie Bates

Lock up one of the best safeties in football long-term

Extending Jessie Bates would make the defensive side of the ball a lot stronger throughout the next four to five seasons, with a lot more stability. Bates is one of the best safeties in football and got a lot more national recognition when he had two interceptions and multiple big-time plays in the postseason and Super Bowl.

According to Spotrac’s market value, Bates will be looking for roughly a five-year deal worth $74 million with an annual salary of $14.8 million. It is definitely a doable deal, but there are a lot of young players who will hit the market over the next few years that Duke Tobin and the front office have to consider.

There is only so much money to go around.

There is no question that Bates has earned this contract, though, and he has the right to be frustrated being franchise-tagged when his goal was a long-term deal. He also handled it like a professional all season long, and kept it out of the media as much as he could.

You get a lot more than just a player with Bates, though; he has shown his IQ and leadership are top-notch, and that is something that isn’t easy to replace on the backend of your defense.