Bengals Beat: ‘Lord knows’ Ja’Marr Chase Would Like A New Contract This Offseason, Wants Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd To Get Theirs

CINCINNATI — Ja’Marr Chase showed Thursday exactly why he is considered one of the most approachable stars in a Bengals locker room loaded with them, and why he was voted this year’s winner of the Bengals Media Cooperation award by the local chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association.

The star receiver, who normally holds court with the media on Thursdays (a day after the head coach and quarterback speak), addressed a number of topics in his final briefing with reporters, not the least of which is whether he wants to get a new contract done with the team before next season.

“Lord knows I want to do that,” Chase said without hesitation when asked. “We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens.”

Close friend and former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson is also due a new deal this offseason as a free agent, leading to the question of whether the Vikings star receiver needs to sign first before Chase will commit. “Hell yeah,” Chase laughed.

It’s been long assumed that Chase is the top receiver in the eyes of his teammates, coaches and front office. His relationship with Joe Burrow remains tight and bringing him back is considered a top priority of the organization.

How much is he looking for? How does he want it structured?

“Probably just up front (guaranteed money), for real,” said Chase of the first year dollars.

Pressed on how much he might want guaranteed after that first year, Chase was not as forthcoming.

“I don’t know. You’re goin’ a little too far now. I gave you a little spice. Don’t take all of it,” Chase joked.

Davante Adams, 29, is the highest paid receiver at $140 million over five years. Adams is followed Tyreek Hill (4 yrs/$120 million), Amari Cooper (5/$100 million) and A.J. Brown (4/$100 million) and Stefon Diggs (4/$96 million). Where Chase falls in that scope is anyone’s guess going into the offseason.

Regarding his own contract he clearly has control. But when it comes to the futures of his two other fellow star receivers, he was resigned to letting business take care of business.

“It hit me this week that the opportunity might not be there,” Chase said of Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, both of whom will be free agents in March.

“It definitely hit me,” Chase added. “There are a lot of memories, a lot of laughs, a lot of bonding going on with those guys. It’s something I can’t explain.”

“They know I want them (to stay),” Chase said. “They know what I want, but at the end of the day, it’s what they want. I won’t hold nobody back from what they want. I’ll support anything they do. Those are my brothers. I love them to death.”

The question of how to approach Higgins is a fascinating one.

Do the Bengals make a competitive offer in the neighborhood of Brown’s four-year, $100 million deal or shave off the money and structure it so that they sill have money to pay Chase? Or do they tag him in the neighborhood of the $21 million that tagged wide receivers get in 2024? They could either tag and keep him to run it back one more year with Chase or tag and trade him. Or they could make no offer at all and let him walk in free agency and take the compensatory picks.

The Bengals have a ton to consider when it comes to their receiver room heading into 2024. Sunday’s game isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning of what lies ahead.

Numbers, numbers:

Numbers always mean something to those who play professional sports. It’s a quantitative way of measuring success through production. In the case of Ja’Marr Chase, he has the potential Sunday of making more history. With four catches he can become the third receiver in team history with at least 100 catches in a season. With five, he’ll move past Carl Pickens (100 in 1996) for second in team history.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh holds the team record with 112 in 2007. So, Chase indeed has something to play for Sunday, finishing with a winning record and making some team history in the process.

“I just want to show the guys I’ll put my body on the line,” Chase said. “I love football. That’s the biggest thing. And you never really know when it’s going to be your last game.”

“It’s pretty important to me,” Chase said of the century mark. “It’s something I hope I achieve. I want to get to 113 — 114 to be exact. That’s my biggest goal.”

In the 2021 season finale in Cleveland, Chase played to record catches to break the rookie record and then immediately took a seat for the rest of the game with the playoffs ahead of the Bengals.

“That’s upstairs, man. If I made the decision, I probably wouldn’t … never mind,” Chase said.

Charity Challenge:

Ted Karras continues to maintain a lead over Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson in the Walter Payton Man of the Year online Charity Challenge, a spinoff of the main league-wide award that will be handed out in Las Vegas at the Super Bowl.

Karras says approximately 60 people have lined up to get tattoos of a “reasonable size” with the “Cincy Hat” logo if he captures the online challenge, which carries with it a $35,000 gift to the charity of choice, which in Karras’ case is the Village of Merici. That cause got a boost on Wednesday when Joe Burrow turned over his phone to Karras so he could tweet out a promotion for it.