At this point, the Cincinnati Bengals are giving Cheap-innati Bengals vibes because they don’t want to pay people. And that’s probably costing Joe Burrow the Super Bowl that he surely deserves. You see, after the 2024 season wrap-up, Burrow’s two weapons, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, are looking for contract extensions. Of course, they’re gonna cost a fortune to the Bengals’ front office and that’s where things get interesting.

The Cincinnati team has a salary cap space of $46M in 2025 and if they want to franchise tag Higgins, it’s probably gonna cost them $26M. Now’s the tricky part. Chase is due for a massive payday as well and signing both receivers on hefty contracts with $46M in cap space? That’s a bit of a tightrope walk. Huh! Now, if the Bengals don’t take care of this situation, Joe Burrow may ask for a trade—at least that’s what the host of First Take on ESPN, Stephen Smith believes.

On Tuesday, while talking about the make-or-break year for Burrow and the Bengals, Smith didn’t hold back and straight up warned that Burrow may ask for a trade if they don’t take care of their player situations. “That’s where I was going. I think that he should and I think that he will,” he said when asked about Burrow’s trade prediction. “He’s letting them know he’s not happy and he ain’t about to stand and he’s not about to be a quarterback for a franchise that ain’t trying to win, and he’s hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself.”

He further added, “But as the saying goes, ‘you can’t keep teaching old dog new tricks’ and Mike Brown is Mike Brown, and considering the money that the NFL practically prints for crying out loud, you would think this man would prioritize winning.” Translation? Well, Burrow has been vocal to keep his squad together, including Chase, Higgins, and the defensive end, Trey Hendrickson.

Enter Mike Browns’ historical spending habits that raise concerns about making necessary financial commitments. You see, the Bengals’ owner is pretty much known for avoiding significant spending in free agency. Whether it’s a failed negotiation with Warren Sapp in 2004 or with Jesse Bates III in 2022.

And despite Burrow’s advocacy and the team’s cap space, Mike Brown’s spending habits are gonna play a crucial role in this offseason. Once Again! That’s exactly why Stephen Smith thinks if the Bengals keep playing it cheap, Burrow might just say, “Enough’s enough,” and look for a way out—massive contract or not. After all, the QB still wants to win his maiden Super Bowl title.

Trey Hendrickson is basically done with Joe Burrow’s Bengals?

Trey Hendrickson chased a paycheck last year—this time, he might chase a new team instead. The reason? Well, he wanted a big money deal in the last offseason, but the Bengals, as usual, weren’t ready to open the vault. Frustrated, he even asked for a trade—then took it back and balled out for another season. But here we are again. He’s now heading to the final year of his contract, still without that big payday.

And if the Bengals didn’t offer him an extension, don’t be surprised if the $21M star packs his bag and pushes for a trade—for real this time. His next stop? According to FanSided’s Terrence Jordan, it’s possibly going to be the Chicago Bears. But what’s the bait? A second- and fifth-round pick in 2025 for Hendrickson.

“There are many teams that would be interested in Hendrickson, but his age and the need to give him an immediate big-money extension could limit the pool of buyers,” Jordan explained. “The Bears have two second-round picks this year as the last parting gift from that Panthers trade, so trading one with a fifth-rounder to sweeten the pot would still leave them in fine position on draft day while addressing one of their most crucial needs.”

The deal’s pretty simple for the Bears, according to Jordan. The Chicago team’s defense was average in sacks in 2024, with 40 only. Now that they already have Monte Sweat in their roster, adding Hendrickson would make their defense much stronger. And their cap space? Nah, that’s better than the Bengals. The Bears have a cap space of $62.9M in 2025 to pay Hendrickson what he wants.

As for the Bengals, you can say that they can’t get a much better deal. The reason? If the Cincy refuses to pay him, they can at least trade him instead of losing him for nothing. After all, they can get a 2nd-round pick and a 5th-round pick in exchange for him.