The Bengals signed receiver Ja’Marr Chase and kicker Evan McPherson that same year. Both are eligible for new contracts. One got one, the other did not.
The team has officially announced that it has extended McPherson’s contract.
“Evan has proven to be a reliable weapon for our team,” coach Zac Taylor said in a team press release. “He has helped us in tremendous moments and he is an important part of what we will do moving forward. He is representing himself and the team in the right way and I am very happy for Evan and his family that we were able to do this before the season.”
The same quote could be applied to Chase, but with exclamation points instead of periods. But Chase’s situation remains.
The Bengals have publicly sent mixed signals about whether Chase will get a new contract. At one point, owner Mike Brown said the team would bend backwards Chase to sign a new contract. At the same time, Brown said it was probably won’t happen this year.
Chase would have held on, as we recently explained, if not for $3.8 million of his $4.962 million in compensation in the form of a roster bonus that he would have lost if he hadn’t been in training camp by the third day.
Whether the Bengals and Chase work something out before the season begins remains to be seen. If the team waits, it will only get more expensive. But the team will also get one of the league’s best receivers for a fourth year, compared to the game’s other short-list receivers, who are among the best of the best.
The difference between Chase and McPherson is the fifth-year option available to first-round draft picks. This often leads to teams that should reward a player for three great seasons not exercising his rights for a fourth year before seriously considering a new contract. (Here’s an idea: Remove the fifth-year option as one of the conditions of the 18-game extension.)
Last year, quarterback Joe Burrow received his contract on the Thursday before the start of the regular season. The Bengals would likely have to move that up a week if they want Chase to be on the field for the various practices before the season opener against the Patriots.
