Hill has been enjoying a superb preseason and could develop into Bates’ potential starting-caliber replacement, should Bates walk next year. Quarterback Joe Burrow has spoken highly of Bates in the past, and he along with the rest of the team are prepared to welcome Bates back “ with open arms.” Bates’ return gives the Bengals around three weeks to get the secondary up to speed before the start of the season, and it’ll be especially interesting to see how the team uses both Bates and rookie Dax Hill in the backfield.
With the way Dax Hill has played this preseason and Jessie Bates returning, the Bengals safety trio is going to be their second strongest position this year.Ĭincinnati Bengals’ Jessie Bates remains disgruntled but will play in 2022ĭespite staging a holdout, Bates was spotted at the Bengals’ preseason opener against the Cardinals, which suggests he’s still committed to the team… for now.
Now that Bates has signed his franchise tag, he will be subject to monetary fines, and fans should see much more of the safety in the next few weeks. Earlier this summer Bates skipped team OTAs and mandatory minicamp, so it was to be expected that Bates would miss the majority of training camp as well. The fifth-year safety made it clear he wanted a hefty long-term contract extension, but the two sides failed to get a deal done in time. Instead, Bates signed his roughly $12 million franchise tender on Tuesday and will play for Cincinnati for the 2022 season.īates’ contract negotiations reached a stalemate this offseason as the Bengals remained unwilling to pay Bates top-of-the-market money. There was the inkling of a chance Bates would sit out the entire season at the risk of ruining his career and making it more difficult for the star safety to find a new team next year. Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates is back in the building after missing training camp and the team’s preseason games, allowing fans to breathe out a long sigh of relief.
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