The Cincinnati Bengals are facing potential exoduses this offseason, with star quarterback Joe Burrow advocating for the team to retain its top talent. Burrow is even willing to make sacrifices, as news surfaced on Wednesday that he’s open to altering his current contract to enable the team to keep key players like pending free agent Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, who is eager to renegotiate his deal. Burrow shared these potential adjustments on the Pardon My Take podcast.
“You could convert some of the money to a signing bonus, which will lower the cap hit. You can push some of the money to the back end of the contract,” Burrow suggested via ESPN.com. “That lowers the cap hit. And then when you get to the back end of the contract, you can restructure it and convert it to a signing bonus. You can also just take less money.” Since being selected first overall in 2020, Burrow has proven to be a franchise quarterback, leading the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1988 in 2021, despite their loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He also led the team to the AFC Championship Game the following season, though they ultimately fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the previous year’s championship.
However, frustrations have mounted since Cincinnati missed the playoffs in the last two seasons, and contracts remain unsigned. Higgins is poised to enter free agency and may not return to Cincinnati, while Chase’s future is also uncertain despite being under contract. At least in Burrow’s case, he can’t say he didn’t try to offer something if the situation doesn’t unfold favorably.
