CINCINNATI — Ja’Marr Chase watched as fellow Cincinnati Bengals pass catchers cut to their left and then curled back for a catch.
Like every member of the Bengals’ offense, Chase wore a white team jersey. But amid a sea of helmets on the final day before padded practices began, Chase wore a baseball cap.
More than a week into camp, he was not practicing.
Instead, the three-time Pro Bowl receiver was “holding in” — participating in meetings and walking through some concepts on his own but eschewing organized physical activity as he campaigned for a contract extension.
He knows the market is lucrative right now.
For NFL teams, the receiver market is downright scary.
Just days before the NFL Draft in April, the Detroit Lions awarded Amon-Ra St. Brown a four-year extension worth with a receiver-record $77 million guaranteed and $30 million per year. The record lasted a day.
Then the Philadelphia Eagles awarded A.J. Brown $84 million in guarantees and a $32 million annual average salary.
By June, the Minnesota Vikings smashed non-quarterback precedents as they gave Justin Jefferson a four-year, $140 million contract ($35 million per year) with $110 million guaranteed.
So while it is easy to look at Chase’s non-participation as dramatic — he still has one year remaining on his rookie deal and then a fifth-year option, and then two possible franchise tags — a glance at the receiver market tells another story.
The time is ripe to be an NFL wide receiver on the brink of extension. Why not maximize his chances of striking?
“He’s obviously a huge part of our offense,” Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher told Yahoo Sports. “The business part is the business part. Those two sides are going to handle that how they need to handle it. We obviously would love to have Ja’Marr practicing. But I think everybody here understands the elements at play.
“There’s an implicit love and trust of Ja’Marr Chase because of who he is, what he’s meant to this team,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/as-bengals-eye-super-bowl-return-they-must-first-solve-jamarr-chases-high-stakes-contract-situation-035714096.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-31 03:57:14
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