The Cincinnati Bengals and Jesse Bates III have little time to negotiate a contract extension before free agency begins.
If Bates is not signed by March 14, clubs other than the Bengals can legally start wooing him with offers, and he could formally sign elsewhere on March 16 when the NFL league year begins.
However, this is unlikely because the Bengals are expected to give Bates the franchise label, according to USA Today NFL insider and former Bengals writer Tyler Dragon.
The Bengals are likely going to tag the Jesse Bates franchise as they continue to try to negotiate a long-term extension with security, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
— Tyler Dragon (@TheTylerDragon) March 5, 2022
The deadline for clubs to use the franchise tag is March 8, which is next Tuesday. This gives the Bengals a day off to try to finalize the 25-year-old defender’s extension. But the marks continue to point to the tag used for Bates.
Bates’ tagging will cost the Bengals about $13 million in salary cap this year. An extension could lower that cap a little for this year, but it’s unlikely to affect additional free agent plans. Bates’ bates count was bound to increase no matter what, and the Bengals certainly took that into account.
While it’s too early to predict if Bates will make it or not, he’s known for not wanting to play under the tag.
Cincinnati will ultimately keep Bates out of the free agent market, but the ultimate goal is to use the next months to continue working on a long-term deal. The deadline for a marked player to sign a long-term contract is July 15, so that would be the new deadline for the Bengals and Bates.