{"id":15644,"date":"2025-02-27T23:37:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T23:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15644"},"modified":"2025-02-27T23:37:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T23:37:27","slug":"breaking-can-bengals-re-up-stars-tee-higgins-jamarr-chase-and-trey-hendrickson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15644","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Can Bengals re-up stars Tee Higgins, Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Duke Tobin took questions for 30 minutes at the podium, double that of the typical media availability at the NFL Combine.<\/p>\n

Tobin, the Bengals\u2019 de facto general manager as director of player personnel, spent most of that time responding to questions about how he can pay Ja\u2019Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati’s trio of stars who are all eligible for new contracts. Tobin even joked about how many times he was asked about the topic.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m pretty run out here,” he exclaimed. “The dynamic type questions, maybe I\u2019ve lost my dynamic nature. I don\u2019t know.”<\/p>\n

But the confidence he exuded about the ambitious goal was apparent.<\/p>\n

Tobin was not only adamant that the Bengals wanted to sign all three \u2014 including making Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history \u2014 but he was also bullish about Cincinnati\u2019s ability to do so. After all, the Bengals have $58.1 million in effective salary cap space for 2025, eighth-most in the NFL, according to Over The Cap. They also have on their books just $2.3 million in dead money (cap charges for players who are no longer on the roster), lower than all but four teams. That accentuates their financial flexibility.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re fortunate to be in a position where we can fit them all in,” Tobin said Tuesday. “We\u2019ve managed our cap well. We have low dead money. We want a high payroll and low dead money, so the people who are in Cincinnati playing for us can get all the money. That\u2019s what we want. And we\u2019re in a position to re-sign these guys. It\u2019s a good position to be in. It really is. And we\u2019re going to attack it.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a tall task,” he added. “We think we\u2019re up to it.”<\/p>\n

So, how can Cincinnati make it happen?<\/p>\n

It starts with getting a deal done with receiver Higgins, who\u2019s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month \u2014 unlike Chase and Hendrickson, who are entering a contract year.<\/p>\n

The Bengals have at their disposal the franchise tag, which Higgins played on last season. The non-exclusive tender would give him a $26.2 million salary for 2025, which is 120% of his last season\u2019s salary. But if the Bengals use the tag by the Tuesday deadline, it should be just as a placeholder. If Higgins plays on the tag (again), the full amount would count against Cincinnati’s salary cap, as opposed to a significantly lower cap number \u2014 and more financial flexibility \u2014 that would come from a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n

Higgins wants the long-term security, likely a deal that exceeds $30 million in average annual value, which would slot him in the top-seven at his position.<\/p>\n

“He fits with us and we fit with him,” Tobin said of Higgins. “It\u2019s a great match. There\u2019s no reason to not work hard to continue the relationship.”<\/p>\n

Chase\u2019s deal should be north of $35 million per year, topping the mark of the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 Justin Jefferson for the highest AAV for a non-quarterback ever. Chase should be next after Higgins. And like Chase, defensive end Hendrickson could look to reset the market at this position, despite being 30 years old. He has 35 sacks over the past two seasons, including a league-high 17.5 in 2024. The San Francisco 49ers\u2019 Nick Bosa currently tops the edge-rusher market at $34 million per year.<\/p>\n

By the end of this offseason, if everything goes according to plan, the Bengals could have four players making north of $30 million a year, including quarterback Joe Burrow and two receivers. It\u2019s feasible, because new contracts for Chase, Higgins and Hendrickson could keep salary cap charges low in the immediate future as Burrow\u2019s cap number takes a significant jump next season. It\u2019ll be $46 million in 2025, which is more than 16% of Cincinnati\u2019s salary cap, per OTC. Chase\u2019s cap charge for next season is currently slated to be $21.8 million, while Hendrickson is at $18.6 million.<\/p>\n

The increased cap flexibility from re-upping their stars would also help the Bengals improve their defense, which cost the team several games last season. Cincinnati, which has missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, ranked 25th in points allowed in 2024, compared to sixth in scoring with Burrow & Co.<\/p>\n

“The earlier we can do some of [these contracts], the freer it gives us to build the rest of the team,” Tobin said. “We have other needs that we want to build, so we want to get these kind of things done early enough to where we can really focus on building out the rest of the football team.<\/p>\n

“We don\u2019t want to just re-sign these guys and pay more for the same football team we had last year,” he added. “We want to add to it as well, so we want to re-sign these guys, reward them for their ability level and add to the football team.”<\/p>\n

An ambitious plan is underway.<\/p>\n

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean\/USA TODAY Network, where he was the\u00a0<\/i>Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the\u00a0<\/i>Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at\u00a0<\/i>@benyarthur.<\/i><\/p>\n

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?<\/i>\u00a0Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We break down the feasibility of Cincinnati’s ambitious plan to lock up its star trio \u2014 and what that would mean for the rest of the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cincinnati-bengals"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING : Can Bengals re-up stars Tee Higgins, Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson? - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15644\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Can Bengals re-up stars Tee Higgins, Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson? 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