It appears as though star wide receiver Ja'marr Chase will have to wait until next offseason to agree to a contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals. While speaking with media members ahead of training camp, Bengals president Mike Brown revealed that a deal getting done at this point of the year is unlikely, though he wouldn't rule out the possibility completely.
Not an ideal time to negotiate
"It's not so likely that this is the good time to negotiate," Brown said. "The offseason is a better time for that and we're going to try to keep focused on the football part. I'm not going to rule anything out, but I will tell you that the die has probably been cast."
There's not necessarily a rush to get a deal done, as Chase is technically under team control for the next two seasons, including a club option for the 2025 season, and Brown made it clear that keeping Chase in black-and-orange is a priority for the organization.
"He's a key player next to Joe ," Brown said of Chase. "He's our next one. He knows that. We know it. This may take a while. We are going to bend over backwards to get it done. I can't tell you when."
The feeling is mutual, as Chase has previously expressed a desire to come to a long-term agreement with the Bengals.
"Lord knows, I want to do that," he said earlier this year. "I mean, but we'll see what happens."
When it comes time to put pen to paper, Chase should command a deal similar to the one Justin Jefferson got from the Minnesota Vikings -- $140 million over four years with $110 million guaranteed -- and the Bengals pass-catcher actually wanted to wait for Jefferson to sign his deal and reset the market before putting pen to paper on his own extension.
Now that Jefferson's deal is done, Chase is next in line to cash in. The star pass-catcher is clearly part of Cincinnati's long-term plans, so the argument could be made that they should try to lock him up as quickly as possible in order to keep him happy and avoid any potential drama or distractions. That might not happen, though, and ultimately Chase might have to wait a little longer to get compensated in a similar manner to Jefferson.