On Sunday night, the Cincinnati Bengals made two massive decisions that will affect how they build their roster in the short and long term. The Bengals reportedly signed star wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase to a four-year, $161 million contract ($112 million guaranteed) and Tee Higgins to a four-year, $115 million deal.
In one aspect, you cannot blame the Bengals for prioritizing Higgins and Chase as they are one of the best wide receiver duos in the league. And when you throw Joe Burrow in the mix, Cincy will always be in the playoff/Super Bowl convo, which does not make Browns fans happy.
On the other hand, the Bengals are putting themselves in a tough spot financially and overall roster construction. They didn't allow one of these talented wideouts to walk, despite it being the clear better choice for the overall health of their personnel balance.
And this comes all while Cincinnati could possibly lose one of its only difference-makers on defense in EDGE Trey Hendrickson.
Sources: Cincinnati is working to retain Trey Hendrickson and discussions are ongoing between the two sides.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 17, 2025
The Bengals are attempting to do what many in the league thought difficult and keep — and pay — all three of their stars. pic.twitter.com/3fQjvqjwZg
Onehas to wonder how much it will cost Cincy to keep Hendrickson, especially when you factor in the massive extension Myles Garrett got from the Browns (four-year, $160M with $123 million guaranteed).
Hendrickson likely won’t come close to Garrett’s contract, but if the Bengals are trying hard to keep this core together, they will have to concede on something. The concession could be the roster, instead of being huge players in free agency, the Bengals got to build through the draft.
Now granted, the Browns cannot talk about building through the draft as GM Andrew Berry’s picks have been spotty over the last couple of years. However, Cincinnati will be under more pressure, especially after giving out extensions to Chase and Higgins.
This means spending draft capital to beef up the trenches, which wasn’t a strong suit for the Bengals as Burrow was sacked 48 times. The Bengals must also use draft capital to fill in the void at premium spots like linebacker, cornerback, or pass rusher, and hopefully develop those guys into starters.
Nonetheless, the Bengals clearly got greedy by keeping two stars in town instead of letting one walk for the good of the team's books. Now they'll have to pay the price.