Alright, the regular season wrapped up with the Chiefs‘ crushing loss to the Broncos. Yeah, but that didn’t do the Bengals any favor, right? Bo Nix and Sean Payton went off, the Kansas City team decided to rest their starters, and voilà, the Bengals were officially out of the playoff contention. And with that folks, Ja’Marr Chase’s rookie contract came to a rest with the team.

But it isn’t the end for him with the Bengals. The team has already picked up a fifth-year option on his contract. But is that enough? I mean, his performance this season is saying otherwise and he must be getting a long-term deal in the coming off-season. Luckily, the head coach, Zach Taylor is hoping for the best. When a reporter asked if the Bengals would be able to get a long-term deal done for the wide receiver this offseason, the HC replied, “That’s certainly our hope.”

And it should be as far as his regular season is concerned. I mean, the guy finished his campaign as a triple-crown winner. C’mon Bengals, leading the league in receptions (127), rushing yards (1,708), and touchdowns (17), this 24-year-old wideout is truly a gem for the Cincinnati team.

Remember that week 14 showdown against the Cowboys? Yeah, the one when the Bengals thrashed the Cowboys with 27-20. Chase was a different beast in the game. With a record 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns, he earned the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. It’s more of an offense that bruised the Cowboys pretty badly.

But alas, despite his solid season as a triple-crown winner, the Bengals fell short to the Broncos at the conclusion of this Sunday’s games. And with that, now the fans’ eyes will be on the off-season because Ja’Marr Chase isn’t the only one who’s in line for a contract extension.

Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase: The wideouts to look out for

Wow, looks like the wide receivers will be making roars in the coming off-season. While the head coach has his fingers crossed for Ja’Marr Chase and is keeping the same hope alive for Higgins, too. But the thing is, Higgins, will enter the off-season after already being franchise tagged last year. As the regular season wrapped up, the head coach was asked if he had been lobbying the front office to bring back Higgins.

“I think ‘lobby’ is not the right word,” Taylor responded. “We are lockstep in how we communicate every week of the season, every week of the offseason. So those are conversations that we’ll have. We’ve got a lot of great players, and Tee’s one of them certainly. I’m very hopeful that that’ll work out to where we are able to get him back.” However, if not a long-term deal, the Bengals can franchise tag him. Once Again!

But for how long can they work out like this? I mean, Higgins got a $21.8 million salary deal this year. And let’s not forget that a 120 percent increase is required to franchise tag a player for the second time. That means his salary will rise up to $26.2 million. The way things are shaping up, Higgins is also on the cards to be offered a mega deal. Just like Chase! But if the Bengals decide to tag him again, of course, the number will keep rising from here.

If we take Chase’s instance here, the guy made a base salary of a little over a million. And as the Bengals choose a fifth-year option for him in the next season, he’s going to make a whopping $21.8 million in 2025. The same as Higgins made last year. So people, looks like these wide receivers are gonna make the Cincinnati team lose their purse heavily. Just in case, if Chase and Higgins don’t end up with a long-term contract, still they’re going to make over $20 million each. And Higgins may have an upper hand here.

All in all, regardless of this, the Bengals may sign Ja’Marr Chase for a massive extension. As in the case of Higgins, we can just keep our fingers crossed like the head coach.