Paying their superstar receivers is starting to pay off for the Bengals

AtoZ Sports

John Sheeran discusses why the Cincinnati Bengals are already seeing big gains from paying receivers Ja'marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Transcript

00:00The Bengals are currently experiencing the hidden benefits behind paying both Jamar Chase and T

00:04Higgins and in this video I'll explain how it's exactly what one of their youngest players needs.

00:12Hi again Bengals fans. John Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati here and OTAs are well underway

00:17into the second week and we're seeing some dimes from Joe Burrow to Jamar Chase. We're seeing T

00:22Higgins make some catches over the middle. It's very nice to see the Bengals two-star receivers

00:26being fully involved and participating in this part of the offseason and that of course was the

00:31expectation right after they got paid their massive contracts back in the spring they're doing

00:35everything in their power to get ready for the season and live up to those contracts. Of course

00:39when it comes to what they do on the field the Bengals don't expect anything different with

00:43Chase and Higgins. They expect them to continue to make the same remarkable plays that they've made

00:48for about half a decade now but like any job in any industry when you get paid more typically end up

00:53having more responsibilities and this is a reality when it comes to veterans in the NFL when you become

00:58one of the highest paid players not only on your team but around the entire league players will

01:03naturally gravitate toward you more so than they already were and it makes total sense right if

01:07you're a young player in an NFL locker room and you want to have the same or similar career to a guy

01:11who just got paid 160 million dollars over the course of the next four years naturally you want to try

01:16to emulate everything that that guy does. The team captains the voices of reason the guys that people look to

01:21for leadership in your locker room are typically making more money than pretty much everyone else

01:26and that right there is the difference the Bengals are expecting from both Chase and Higgins

01:29especially compared to this time last year. Nobody needs a reminder of how the 2024 offseason went

01:34for both Chase and Higgins when Chase was dealing with contract extension talks he was sitting out

01:39of voluntary workouts he was holding in during training camp. Higgins of course signed his franchise

01:43tender around this time last year in the middle of June and he showed up for training camp and he was a good

01:47sport about it but obviously that wasn't the outcome that he would have preferred either. When they were too

01:50wrapped up in the uncertainties of their future and whether or not they were going to get paid

01:53I don't think they could take the necessary steps to become the leaders that the receiver rooms or really the

01:57offense in general needed last year and on top of that it was the first offseason that the coaching staff

02:02didn't have Tyler Boyd's leadership in that locker room helping them out. When Higgins and Chase came to

02:06Cincinnati in 2020 and 2021 respectively Boyd had already been paid he was growing into that leader of the room

02:12he was basically the old head of the room by the time that he left in 2024. The developments of both

02:17Higgins and Chase not only as players but as professionals off the field can be largely attributed

02:21to having Boyd as that true leadership presence and I bring all this up now because this week was

02:26the first time that we've heard Jermaine Burden speak since the end of his tumultuous rookie season

02:30and Burden was very open with reporters about what he needs to do better the consistency that he needs

02:35to gain this year as a professional and he also specifically mentioned both Chase and Higgins

02:39as key figures to his ongoing growth saying quote Chase and T have done a really good job

02:43helping me in and out of the facility talking with me coming up with better ways listening to

02:48some of their habits and ways they stay consistent. This is what Burden needed last year when he was

02:52entering the NFL and there was a lot of questions about his character and his work ethic and clearly

02:56a lot of those questions were verified with how his rookie season unfolded but again with Chase and

03:01Higgins so distracted with their own futures I don't think they could have become the leaders

03:04that Burden needed but now that they're paid and taken care of they can comfortably establish

03:08themselves as true leaders in the locker room and people that guys like Burden can turn to. It's entirely

03:13true that since the 2022 team went to the AFC Championship there's been a massive exodus in

03:18leadership from this Bengals locker room and the young guys from that team need to eventually fill

03:22the shoes of the guys who are no longer here. It's still the beginning of June but this is the exact

03:27time when those shoes can be filled and it does sound like both T and Jamar are taking it upon

03:31themselves to do it. It truly does pay to pay your stars and maybe there's a lesson there with another

03:36all pro on the team. I don't know, just food for thought.

03:39coming out, Scott.

Category

Transcript

Recommended