Monday, the Cincinnati Bengals had the ultimate pressure placed upon the organization. Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb got his long-awaited contract extension, agreeing to a 4-year deal worth $136 million.
Meanwhile, Chase has been in the same boat, waiting for the Bengals to give him the type of contract he feels he deserves.
Chase saw Lamb get paid all while Justin Jefferson, of the Minnesota Vikings, received his deal a while back. Jefferson was able to secure a 4-year contract worth $140 million, the most of any non-quarterback in NFL history. Lamb checks in at no. 2 on that list.
That should mean things are well on their way to being kosher in Cincinnati, right? The Bengals and Chase have to get a deal done soon, right?
One might think so, but there's also another world we could be living in.
If Cincinnati wanted to, they could certainly look at Lamb's production the last couple of years and use that, along with this new contract, against Chase.
Real quickly, let's look at the past two seasons from both of these players.
Note: Chase played 12 games in 2022 due to injury, and missed one game in 2023. Lamb played every game the past two seasons, which is also something the Bengals could choose to use against him.
Player | Targets | Receptions | Rec. Yards | Rec. TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chase | 279 | 187 | 2,262 | 16 |
Lamb | 337 | 242 | 3,108 | 21 |
Bengals can’t afford to get cheap with Ja’Marr Chase contract extension
The bottom line is this: Cincinnati cannot and should not allow themselves to downplay Chase's well-deserved extension that is in-the-making. The Bengals know how valuable Chase is to this team. They know that, regardless of any nitty gritty numbers, Chase is a top-3 wide receiver in this league.
Has anyone thought about the possibility of the Bengals losing out on Tee Higgins and Chase, when it's all said and done? Higgins is already in the midst of a sticky situation and the Bengals are fortunate he's going to play this year on the franchise tag, despite not being thrilled about it.
Cincinnati cannot risk playing the wrong cards and watching Chase's mentality turn on the organization. For now, things seem to be headed in the correct direction. Chase is back on the practice field with his teammates which leads many to believe that a deal is close, and that's a huge positive.
But, if the Bengals chose to use this Lamb contract extension as leverage against Chase, they could be setting themselves up for an even more difficult immediate and long-term future.
A future without either Higgins or Chase is not one which the Bengals fans even want to think of entertaining. Thus, it's time to stop messing around and get this thing dealt with, once and for all.