In Cincinnati once more is Jessie Bates. Upon his return to the Bengals’ facility on Tuesday, the great safety will sign his franchise tag, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, as reported by NFL Network Insider. This week, Cincinnati will get ready to meet the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams for joint workouts.
After the parties were unable to reach a long-term contract agreement by the deadline of July 15 Bates missed all of the offseason and most of training camp. The 25-year-old was exempt from sanctions for skipping training since he had not signed his contract. In 2022, the safety’s $12.91 million franchise tag payment is due.
Given that the Bengals and Bates are apparently at odds over contract terms and that Cincinnati selected Daxton Hill in the first round, it seems probable that the safety will spend his final season with the club before signing with another team in free agency in March. Nobody knew for sure if Bates would join the Bengals again.
