CINCINNATI — Yes, the defense needs addressing. Yes, the interior offensive line needs some work.
But Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin wasn’t wrong to point out the true significance of Tuesday’s dual superstar signings at the wide receiver position.
The Bengals got Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to come to Cincinnati with their agent Rocky Arceneaux and sign four-year pacts with the Bengals. For Chase, it’s a four-year extension through 2029 worth $161 million and $112 million guaranteed. For Higgins, it’s a new four-year contract that wipes out the $26.2 million franchise tag and extends Higgins through the 2028 season.
While teams like the Patriots and Browns are searching for receivers and quarterbacks, the Bengals have all three locked up in a move that should prop Cincinnati’s Super Bowl window open wide for the length of their contracts.
When you commit $550 million to three players, it better.
“The Bengals have a long history of drafting and retaining elite wide receivers, and we’re happy to continue that tradition with Ja’Marr and Tee,” Tobin said in a team statement. “We are known for our explosive, high-scoring offense and Ja’Marr and Tee are a big part of that identity. They earned these extensions with their abilities and promise for the future. We have our receivers. The rest of the league can go find their own.”
The Bengals have embraced their identity and there’s nothing wrong with that. They just have to make sure they complement that with savvy scouting and player development that gets much more out of their defense, particularly first, second and third-year players.
That was the formula for the Philadelphia Eagles last year in signing Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown. Howie Roseman was bold and give credit to the Blackburns and Mike Brown for doing the same.
Mike Brown has seen his fair share of great receivers over the last 50 years. From Charlie Joiner to Issac Curtis, to Eddie Brown, Cris Collinsworth and Tim McGee, to Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott, to Chad Johnson, Chris Henry and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, to A.J. Green, Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones Jr.
But there’s never been a tandem in team history like Chase and Higgins. They were thisclose to a Super Bowl title in 2021. Now, Brown sees the chance to finish the deal and give Joe Burrow the best tandem of receivers in the league.
“Ja’Marr and Tee have proven they are outstanding wide receivers,” Brown said in the statement. “Together with Joe Burrow, we have a very potent offense. That gives us a foundation to win games. It’s hard to cover both of them. Ja’Marr is gifted. He makes exceptional plays. I just look at the plays he makes and marvel. Tee has a great catch radius. He makes plays that stand out in your memory. We are fortunate to have this pair of receivers.”
Head coach Zac Taylor is certainly thrilled.
“As a coach I couldn’t be prouder of two guys I’ve known since the moment they were drafted here,” Taylor said at Tuesday’s dueling receivers press conference. “When we studied them and talked extensively about them as much as any two players we’ve ever drafted, we knew they were capable of something special. They were built differently.
“All we’ve seen these two guys do is work every single day they’ve been in the building, lead by example, inspire some of the younger players, and now they’re going to take on an even bigger leadership role than before, which I know they’re more than capable. Real exciting day for all of us here as an organization, as a fanbase, as players in the locker room, as the coaching staff. Couldn’t be prouder to introduce Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, two of the greatest receivers to play in Bengals history and they’re going to continue to build on that legacy going forward.”
Joe Burrow was in the building Tuesday and spent time with the newly minted receivers in the Bengals locker room, still shiny and new from last year’s makeover.
Chase is convinced that money won’t change him.
“Money just gives me access to do stuff I didn’t do when I was younger,” Chase said. My friends tell me to this day, you haven’t changed. I don’t think I will change. I’ll always be the same person. Confident. I’ll always be the same. I’ll never change.”
For Higgins, it’s about getting back to the Super Bowl and winning this time.
“I want to win a championship. Money is not really being emphasized,” Higgins added. “In four years, I’m trying to win a championship.”
Higgins said he’s going to splurge on a wall fish tank in his home, something he’s always wanted. Chase was more tight-lipped, maybe celebrate but that’s about it.
One thing that was made clear Tuesday is that they are a package deal. This is what the whole Rocky Arceneaux strategy was about. If you want Chase to sign, you’ve got to take care of Tee. The Bengals traditionally do not like to have terms dictated to them. But they understandably were willing to make an exception for this tandem.
After all, the alternative with Higgins’ former agent David Mulugheta of Atheltes First was losing Higgins after this season.
“Yeah, for me, yeah, just because I know, like I really was not trying to let Tee go for me,” Chase said. “I don’t know about Joe (Burrow), but it’s hard when you’re out there and Tee’s not out there. You know what I’m saying, not easy at all. Tee out there, it makes my job easier. I make his job easier. We make running backs job easier. So the whole game slows down. For me. It gets easier for some people. So he’s just a big help.”
Could Chase and Higgins be together for the rest of their careers?
“We’re gonna be together for the next four or five years,” Chase told me before breaking out in laughter. Fair enough.
“It’s a big relief. Yeah, I got tired of those questions, but it’s finally over, and I’m looking forward to more questions about, obviously, my fish tank and food and stuff like that,” Higgins laughed. “I grew up a Bengals fan. And to have the opportunity to sign a four-year deal with my favorite team that I grew up watching, I mean that’s a dream come true. And then, I guess once the announcement was out, my favorite player (Chad Johnson) I grew up watching congratulating me on that is even more crazy. I couldn’t be in a better place.”
Aside from some better food options, Cincinnati has everything Chase wants in a football home.
“I like Cincinnati because it gives me an opportunity to come here and focus,” Chase said. “I’m not distracted out here. There’s not too many things to get me off pace. It’s strictly what I’m focused on, that’s really tunnel version for me to play football. At the end of the day the food’s not the best. We can work on that. I’m from New Orleans. I’m not used to the food yet. But overall, honestly I just think that’s the biggest picture for me. I don’t have no distractions here and I can just play football. And my quarterback’s here. And Tee’s here.”
There were certainly poignant moments too, on Tuesday. Like when Higgins thanked his mom and remembered his late father who passed in 2022.
“Ma, I love you. I did this for us,” Higgins said of his mom This is for us. You ain’t gotta worry about nothing else, and love,” Higgins said before making the heart hands gesture. “This is for pops, too.”
Or the moment when Higgins was asked about being the highest-paid WR2 in the NFL. Chase piped up and corrected it.
Tee you’re the highest paid WR2 in the NFL…
“1A. I’m fixing it 1A,” Chase said, before Higgins answered in not-so uncertain terms.
“You know, bro, I don’t even look at it like that. You know what I mean? I kind of wish they wouldn’t have put it out there like that, because now that’s why everybody’s saying I’m the highest paid two,” Higgins said. “Let’s just say I’m at a place where they value me. And they respect me. And I’m a good player, so let’s just say that. Not the highest receiver, two, or anything like that. You know what I mean? So, let’s just say he’s another great receiver, Bengals receiver that puts in the work and got his head down and just grinds.”
That’s perhaps the best part of this for the Bengals and their fans. No drama this summer. No distractions. Just focus on making sure 0-3 and 1-4 doesn’t happen, derailing the season like it did last year before the team found its groove in the final month.
This signing takes aways pretty much all potential for distraction and talk about whether Chase and Higgins will be paid by the team or if they’re playing in their final deals with the Bengals.
If that leads to a Super Bowl run, then Tuesday was money well spent.
