“Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” Often, this cliché is (aptly) applied in politics. However, despite the fact that the Cincinnati Bengals have been around for nearly 58 years, it has been around long enough to be able to learn from its own mistakes. The franchise’s inability to do so has earned it the moniker, “Same Old Bengals.” In Bengals history, the team has been home to plenty of elite talents but its current makeup could be unlike anything it’s seen.
Despite that, based on reports and the general feeling around the franchise, it looks like the team may be making the same mistakes that doomed it in the past.
In the weeks following the unceremonious ending to another disappointing season, Joe Burrow has been making his rounds. It’s apparent that the franchise quarterback is putting pressure on the front office to make sure it pays the Bengals’ top talents. Specifically, he highlighted Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Mike Gesicki, and Trey Hendrickson as individuals who deserve paydays.
Chase will be playing on his fifth-year option in 2025 and is set to reset the market with his eventual new contract. Higgins is set to be a free agent but it is expected that the team will at the very least place a second Franchise Tag on him. Gesicki was in Cincinnati on a one-year, prove-it deal and proved it. Hendrickson is still under contract in 2025 and made it apparent he would like a new contract and even gave the team an ultimatum: extend or trade.
This smells an awful lot like situations that are all too familiar to Bengals fans. If the team messes this offseason up, it could be the first step of a nuclear meltdown.
The Cincinnati Bengals Must Prevent History From Repeating Itself
Burrow has shown the world that he is putting the ball in the Bengals’ court. He has said that he is more than willing to restructure his contract, something the team has literally never done. That’s not hyperbole, the Bengals have physically never restructured a contract.
Angering the franchise quarterback is not a winning strategy. Washington Post‘s Jason LaCanfora spoke to league executives and there is a prevailing idea that the Bengals are going to Bungle:
“Burrow is going to be pissed,” a second GM predicted. “No way they are keeping more than two of those four.” Multiple executives I spoke with predicted Higgins will land at least $30 million per season.
Obviously, the smartest financial decision for Higgins would be to hit the free agency market. The Bengals have shown that they are not willing to let that happen. It’s been suggested by many that the team just slap the second Franchise Tag on him with the understanding that both the team and Higgins want to get a long-term solution.
As for Chase, it feels like a foregone conclusion that the team will give its Triple Crown-winning receiver a new contract. To be fair, two years ago, it felt like a foregone conclusion that the team would pick Jessie Bates or Higgins to extend and let the other walk. Now, they could be out both.
The Bengals screwed themselves out of millions for not getting an extension for Chase last year. If they thought Chase was expensive then, they’re in for a rude awakening.
Who Dey-Ja Vú
Now, with far too many people believing the Bengals are going to muck this up and alienate their franchise quarterback, it feels like 2011 all again.
Carson Palmer was not the quarterback Burrow is. He was great and was part of some great Bengals teams, but he was not on the same level as Burrow. And yet, he grew tired of the Bengals’ way of dealing with things and requested a trade after the 2010 season, his seventh with the team. In that time, the Bengals won two division titles and that was it. The breakup was ugly.
Palmer said he, “[would] never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again” and “I have $80 million in the bank. I don’t have to play football for money. I’ll play it for the love of the game but that would have to be elsewhere. I’m prepared to live my life.”
His agent put out a statement: “Because of the lack of success that Carson and the Bengals have experienced together, Carson strongly feels that a separation between him and the Bengals would be in the best interest of both parties.”
Obviously, the difference is that Burrow has experienced a bit more success and his frustration would be with the team’s inability/unwillingness to reward stars and keep Burrow’s top weapons together. As a result, we have folks like Colin Cowherd saying that Burrow will eventually follow Palmer’s lead and request a trade.
Would the Bengals eventually give in and trade Burrow? He’d fetch a king’s ransom but, as defacto GM Duke Tobin likes to put it, “the Bengals are not in the business of making other teams better.” However, the sentiment on social media has been, “If the Bengals trade Burrow, I’m following Burrow and leaving the Bengals behind.”
It’s Possible
While the Bengals’ ownership is the least affluent in the NFL, it’s not like Mike Brown needs to bus tables at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse to make ends meet. The team sold off the naming rights to what feels like every square inch of the complex to make sure it had the cash to make things work. Before cuts and a potential Germaine Pratt trade, the Bengals have the 10th-most cap space with just over $46 million in wiggle room.
Current host of the “Locked on Bengals” podcast, Jake Liscow, teamed up with one of his former cohosts and current “Bengals on the Brain” host, Joe Goodberry on a mock offseason exercise.
Their exercise was nearly three hours of, “Yes, the Bengals can do it.”
Obviously, it all hinges on the team nailing its draft, something they’ve struggled with of late. Paying stars is a strong first step at making sure the Super Bowl window stays open. Not whiffing on premium picks is the next. As of now, the Bengals only have six picks in this year’s draft with no expectation of any compensatory picks.
Plain and simple, this offseason will show whether or not the Bengals plan on getting back into the ranks of legitimate Super Bowl contenders. If they balk, it may be the beginning of the end.
Main Image: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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