While the Cincinnati Bengals have consistently spoken about veteran safety Jessie Bates III in the long term, their actions have seemingly sung a different tune. They failed to reach a contract extension with him a year ago, which surprised many, and frustrated Bates.
This offseason hasn’t looked any different, and has included their placing the franchise tag on him, which he has previously talked about wanting to avoid. Since then, they’ve drafted two safeties, including Daxton Hill in the first round.
When asked what kind of message those moves were sending their veteran safeties (which also includes Vonn Bell, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season), head coach Zac Taylor simply said that they are professionals who understand that the front office is just trying to make the team better.