NFL Free Agency Negotiations Begin As Bengals Look Like They've Already Lost The Offseason
The NFL's official negotiating period, during which clubs are allowed to begin contract talks with impending unrestricted free agents, doesn't begin until noon on Monday, but we've already got winners and losers showing themselves in the league's offseason sweepstakes.
Let's get right to it:
Losers? The Cincinnati Bengals without question.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first quarter at SoFi Stadium on November 17, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Bengals Hurt By Miscalculations
They've had three key assignments the last two offseasons and that was to extend the contracts of Ja'Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson and give Tee Higgins a new deal.
And so far they've blown it on all three.
It's a mess. But it's more than that, because the Bengals now may have to overcome their mistakes by paying top-of-the-market deals. So, one mistake to make up for another.
Higgins, who wanted around $22-$23 million per season on average last year, is now tendered at a $26.2 million franchise tag that is fully guaranteed, with every penny showing up on this year's salary cap because it's obviously a one-year tag.
This means the Bengals don't benefit from a lower annual average salary they could have had last year, a cap proration over multiple years which is what happens on multi-year deals, or the price on keeping Higgins long-term, which keeps rising.
Oh, and in the interim, Higgins is not happy with the team and his mother is saying so on social media.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1), quarterback Joe Burrow (9) and wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) take the field as captains for the coin toss before the first quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.
Chase wanted to become the highest-paid non-quarterback last year. That would have cost the Bengals around $34 million per season in 2024. But they didn't get a deal done and haven't this offseason, either.
So now free agency is kicking off but already Myles Garrett has blown the doors off the non-quarterback pay scale with a $204 million deal that pays him $40 million per year on average.
So you think Chase will ignore the new numbers and be content to come in under that as he might have last year? Nope.
Chase wants to be the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL and now he has tangible evidence that number begins at $40 million per season.
Myles Garrett is a freak of nature. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Garrett, Crosby Deals Affect Hendrickson
Speaking of Garrett, he also reset the edge rusher market. That happened after Maxx Crosby reset the edge rusher market last week.
(Yes, both these guys are offseason winners).
So now, Hendrickson, who wanted a new deal last year and earlier this offseason to the point he requested a trade both years, is looking like he deserves to be in that salary orbit.
Hendrickson, who led the NFL the last two seasons with 35 combined sacks, is in the final year of a deal that now makes him the 11th highest-paid edge rusher. He's averaging $21 million per season and would have been content averaging around $27-$29 million before last season.
Now his number has risen above the $30 million per year mark.
The Bengals had great young talent that went to the Super Bowl in 2022 on first or second contracts. And somehow they've managed to blow it in negotiations with everyone not named Joe Burrow. That is costing or will cost the team more money and salary cap space or lost talent.
The Seattle Seahawks trade Geno Smith to the Raiders. (Credit: Getty Images)
Seahawks Look Rough Right Now
So they may have to trade Hendrickson, manage Higgins being upset with a huge franchise tag, and reflect on how badly they predicted the market when they finally sign Chase.
They are already the biggest losers this offseason and that's saying a lot because the Seattle Seahawks have found a way to trade both quarterback Geno Smith and receiver DK Metcalf before free agency even begins.
The Seahawks, however, have a chance to redeem themselves by signing a quarterback and using perhaps one of their three picks in the first two rounds of the April draft to add a receiver. They can also sign a receiver, perhaps Cooper Kupp, once he's released by the Rams.
Stefon Diggs, Chris Godwin and Amari Cooper are also scheduled to be free agents.
So, yes, the Bengals are the unmatched offseason losers so far.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - DECEMBER 29: Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings leaves the field after beating the Green Bay Packers 27-25 at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 29, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)
Sam Darnold About To Cash In
The winners?
We've seen some and will see more starting Monday.
Sam Darnold is likely to be the biggest winner because, well, he's the biggest prize in free agency.
(That's a sentence 2023 Armando Salguero never thought he'd type).
The Seahawks are a possibility.
The Steelers are a possibility, according to The Athletic.
Whoever it is, the Darnold camp is expecting a multi-year deal that pays somewhere in the mid-$40s (million) range. Will he get that from either the Steelers or Seahawks over three or four years?
That's a lot of commitment for a one-year wonder, but Darnold is here for it.
Steelers Shopping For A Quarterback
The Steelers, by the way, seem better off going after Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson.
Wilson is extremely close with newly acquired DK Metcalf, to the point they consider each other brothers and actually go on vacations with their families together.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has enormous respect for Rodgers. Always has. And the idea of dating an older QB rather than a full-fledged long-term marriage to a younger, less proven one has some appeal to Tomlin.
But Rodgers has other possible suitors. They are the New York Giants, Seattle, and retirement, which no one has yet to rule out.
Patriots Already Making Moves
One more thing: Free agency is about spending money and salary cap space.
And the New England Patriots have more cap space than any other NFL team. They're also not shy about using it.
On Sunday, for example, the Patriots signed linebacker Harold Landry to a three-year deal worth $43.5 million. Landry had been released by the Tennessee Titans on Friday and his representation was talking to the Patriots by Saturday.
This was partly a product of coach Mike Vrabel's time with the Titans and familiarity with Landry. And the $26 million in fully guaranteed money Landry got was a product of all that cap space the Patriots enjoy.