As much as it pains this writer to advocate for a strategy deployed by the very team that beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, it's clear that the Los Angeles Rams' contract extension for star running back Kyren Williams has some very real cross-applicability potential.
Hyped as I am about everything coming out of Bengals camp — not least of which is Joe Burrow's somehow-improving trajectory — News broke on Tuesday that Williams signed a new three-year deal worth $33 million.
Kyren Williams accounted for 43% of the Rams’ total touches last season, the highest rate in the NFL, per ESPN research.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 5, 2025
He rushed for a career-high 1,299 yards and 14 TDs on 316 carries, while also adding 34 catches for 182 yards and two more scores in Sean McVay’s offense. https://t.co/o0C8DTrbzz
Williams is a former fifth-round pick playing on the last year of his rookie contract. Performance escalators have already sweetened that deal to a higher pay grade than he would've otherwise received.
Still, to me there's a one-to-one correlation between Williams' situation and one of Cincinnati's few pivotal pending free agents in the next couple of offseasons. So let's dive deeper into what I'm teasing.
Bengals should use Rams' Kyren Williams blueprint for Chase Brown
Precisely one pick sooner in the 2023 NFL Draft than where Williams landed in Los Angeles the prior year, the Bengals drafted Illinois tailback Chase Brown with the 163rd overall pick in Round 5.
Brown has exceeded all reasonable expectations for a Day 3 selection just as Williams has. Once Joe Mixon's time was up as Cincinnati's feature back, Brown stepped into that role last season and was plenty up to the task, rushing for 990 yards and seven TDs to go with 54 receptions, 360 yards and another four scores.
Around this time next year, the Bengals' RB1 will be eligible for a contract extension. Alas, the front office has a self-evident fatal allergy to paying players early. Look no further than the confessed "headache" Tee Higgins endured through a trade request and two franchise tags before he finally got paid the big(ger) bucks.
Funnily enough, the big story on Higgins that just made headlines featured a forecast that Brown is in line for an even larger workload in 2025.
“Expect an uptick in Chase Brown's numbers in the pass game over last season (14 catches, 156 yards). He's worked at his receiving ability and Taylor believes that can be a strength. Cincinnati has a supply-and-demand issue in the passing game with Chase, Higgins and tight end… https://t.co/p9NagqlES1
— 32BeatWriters (@32BeatWriters) August 5, 2025
If this Bengals offense intends to deploy Brown even more and he answers the bell as the bell cow back, the organization should reward him. The parameters of Williams' deal seem fair enough. Since Cincinnati boasts over $114 million in salary cap space for 2027 when a prospective, it's a no-brainer to get the man his money ASAP.
Now obviously a stellar 2025 campaign from Brown will merit a tad more money than Williams just received. Not by much, though. And again, other than Trey Hendrickson's incoming mega deal, the only other free agent of major consequence the Bengals have to worry about until then is left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
Could that change? Yes, especially if any of the Cincinnati's young cornerbacks such as DJ Turner step up and earn huge paydays. The team can cross that bridge if and when they come to it.
At this very moment, however, a Chase Brown extension in 2026 — closely adhering to the Kyren Williams model — is a savvy investment that would save the Bengals valuable cap space to pursue roster upgrades elsewhere in the future. Having a little extra cash on hand in the coming years for such transactions never hurt anyone.
We've seen Cincinnati time and again cost themselves more money by dragging their feet on fresh paydays for Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase, and now again with Hendrickson. It'd be a refreshing change of pace to see the powers that be learn from their history and reward Brown — provided he delivers as expected this season.