HoosierCat

Reportedly it was the Garrett deal that cost them. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25172682-schefter-bengals-had-re-do-jamarr-chases-contract-after-myles-garretts-deal

Bookface group passed along a tweet from Gridiron Grading that the Bengals are bringing Emannwori in for a pre draft visit.

My read on the guard market in general is that all the available guys have warts, every team knows them, and so no one is in a hurry to sign one lest someone better shake loose.

For those keeping score, Jenkins apparently left Seattle without a deal. Now they are bringing in Radnuz for a two day visit.

Time to step up to the plate, Mike! https://prohousing.com/ciudad-reina/ You got a putting green? On-site barber shop? No? Well, get a move on! Gotta keep up with the neighbors.

Looks like a solid draft to me. I don't think Green will be there at 49 but there will be other good edge prospects I'd also be fine with.

I have no objection to bringing back Hilton at the right price. I think he's wearing down, but you could platoon him with Dax to keep him fresh. We know CTB can play better than he did last season, just need the new staff to whip him back into shape. I like Turner, and Newsom and Ivey are decent depth. Battle and Stone make me itchy. I would really, really like a safety. It's another reason they should explore a trade down. An extra second or third would be nice to bolster the secondary.

I have some faint hopes that better coaching and scheming can get more out of Murphy. But I'm not counting on it, and neither should the Bengals.

Plot twist! It was Pacman all along!

Well, 30 other teams didn’t beat it either, which ought to tell you something, namely that the draft is that good (or at least is generally seen as that good) for pass rushers. The FA market for DE has been more or less dead (ask Trey) because teams think they can get a good prospect cheap in their first three picks.

She’s a Blackburn. Get with the times old man!

Well, if you believe Liz, it’s happening. https://m.facebook.com/groups/200041583718865/permalink/2699194643803534/?

Oh I understood you perfectly, Army. It’s why I was squawking so much about draft position during the late-season win streak. And it’s why I find my attention now drawn to IOL at 17. If they can get a guy with experience at tackle too, that’s a plus.

It feels (at least to me) more likely that Trey and the Bengals come to some kind of arrangement that keeps him in Cincy now. He’s already on the cap books for around $19m, so there’s no issue there, and if the Bengals need cash, they can find it. On Trey’s part, reportedly he thought he could get a first, and it turns out he thought wrong. So hopefully he has a little more realistic view of the situation. If the Bengals really did put a $30-32m AAV deal on the table before he sought a trade, and if that’s still on the table, Hendrickson would be a fool not to take it.

Yeah, I think Al is going to largely have the keys to the draft, outside a guard. PFF did a write-up on the Chase/Higgins signings and simulated a possible draft of Kelvin Banks Jr., in the first, followed by ED Landon Jackson and DL Jordan Phillips. That seems pretty good to me. They might even consider a trade down in the first and target someone like Grey Zabel, and pick up an extra third for Al in the process.

Re guard, it seems clear from Peters' comments about Volson's issues being technique and not talent that Cordell is going to get another shot. I expect they will sign a FA guard. Said guard will be better than Cappa, but only because Cappa was so bad. But I would bet that he will end up as a backup and that the other starting guard will come in the draft.

A couple tidbits in Dehner’s athletic column on the deals. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6205743/2025/03/17/bengals-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-fallout/ He thinks the cap relief provided by the extensions will give them room to extend Hendrickson, but provides no numbers, so I don’t know if he knows something or is just guessing. It certainly should be the case, though. He also says they are no longer pursuing Jenkins, if they ever really were. Scherff is still a possibility but obviously a short term solution at best.

Good take here: https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2025/03/17/jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-bengals-contract-extensions-record-setting-grade/82482010007/

bEnGalS R CheAP!!!

Link: https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/sources-cincinnati-bengals-finalizing-contract-extensions-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins

Rapoport, Shefty both reporting Higgins and Chase could be done in the next few days https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2025/03/14/cincinnati-bengals-tee-higgins-jamarr-chase-contract-extension-update-espn-nfl-network/82417225007/

Ogunjobi signed with Buffalo. Not really worried about DT, I've been expecting them to draft one in the first three rounds, so there's your fifth body. On an unrelated note, espn says Jenkins is visiting Seattle on Monday.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/nfl-insider-shares-unique-update-on-ja-marr-chase-s-contract-talks-with-bengals-01jpad10034y I agree with Rapien here. If Chase and the Bengals are down to dickering over details like injury waivers in the contact, the deal is likely closer to done than begun. Would be nice to move one of the boulders out of the way and shut the media up for five minutes.

I don't think so. It's more that as I watch free agents tick off the board, I'm not seeing many where I think, "oh darn, we really missed out there." I mean, stripes mentioned Calais Campbell to shore up the pass rush. Campbell's PFF pass rush grade last year was 66. BJ Hill's was 64. Hard to get outraged about that. As I've said, I do want a guard, and they appear to be actively chasing one, But overall I agree with Amphar that the 2025 FA class is pretty mid.