The Cincinnati Bengals are in the middle of one of the most critical offseasons in franchise history.
Sure, there’s no Ja’Marr Chase or Joe Burrow to get fans excited about a new, playmaking face in town, but there are holes to fill on a team that has the potential to win the Super Bowl, and that could be just as important.
The first real move Cincinnati made was designating the franchise tag to safety Jessie Bates. Whether for the ultimate better or worse, Bates will be playing under the franchise tag. The big takeaway is that he’s remaining a Bengal.