As the Cincinnati Bengals have added players from outside the organization this spring, one very important piece to their postseason puzzle from 2021 is still surrounded by question marks.
They opted to use the franchise tag on fourth-year safety Jessie Bates III to keep control of his contract rights for at least another season, but the topic of a long-term deal remains in question.
Bates has been on record saying he doesn’t have to be the highest paid safety in the league and has stated desire to stay in Cincinnati, but no agreement has been reached.