Joe Burrow has made it clear he wants the Bengals to invest in retaining their top players and build a championship-caliber team around him. However, an NFL executive is doubtful that the team will be able to keep all of their stars.
“Burrow is going to be pissed,” one general manager told Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post. “No way they are keeping more than two of those four.”
Burrow’s request includes keeping Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson, and Mike Gesicki. If the Bengals sign Chase, which seems likely, and only manage to keep one of Higgins, Hendrickson, or Gesicki long-term, it would likely frustrate Burrow.
Despite having nearly $50 million in cap space, which will increase as the team parts ways with veterans like Sheldon Rankins and Germaine Pratt, some skeptics believe the Bengals might not allocate enough to keep all their key players. While not signing Gesicki might be understandable, considering he isn’t in the same tier as the others, the Bengals need to prioritize keeping the “big three” — Chase, Higgins, and Hendrickson.
To avoid Higgins hitting free agency, the Bengals should franchise tag him, buying time to negotiate a long-term deal without competition from other teams.
If they don’t secure these players, Burrow would have every reason to be upset.
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