Reports surfaced after the Cincinnati Bengals and fifth-year safety Jessie Bates III failed to reach an agreement on a long-term contract that he would not report to training camp, having not yet signed his franchise tag tender. Well, training camp is here, and he is not, so it turns out those reports were correct.
Many have also surmised that this pretty much seals the deal with Bates in Cincinnati, that he is a sure bet to sign elsewhere in free agency in 2023, whether he ever reports for this season or not. But you won’t hear anything like that from the Bengals, even right up to owner Mike Brown.