Ja’Marr Chase is entering his fourth season in the NFL. The Cincinnati Bengals are already eyeing a contract extension – and want to stretch themselves tremendously to do so

Ja’Marr Chase is entering his fourth season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Due to his fifth-year option, the 24-year-old can even play two more seasons relatively cheaply for the team from Ohio. After that, a franchise tag would be conceivable.

However, plans to tie Chase to the franchise for the long term are already in full swing. “He’s a key player,” Bengals owner Mike Brown told reporters on Monday.

After the extension with quarterback Joe Burrow, Chase is clearly the next target, he announced. Even though it could “take a while,” Brown made it clear: “We’re going to work our tails off to get it done.”

Chase was picked fifth overall by the Bengals in 2021. He quickly reconnected with Burrow, who played together in college. As a reward, Chase was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021.

Although his rookie season was also his strongest in the NFL to date, Cincinnati thinks highly of the receiver. However, a contract extension could be a complicated matter for salary cap reasons.

Burrow already takes up a lot of salary cap space with his 275 million dollar contract, and Justin Jefferson redefined the market for receivers with his four-year, 140 million dollar extension with the Minnesota Vikings.

That’s why it’s more than likely that receiver Tee Higgins – who is currently playing under the franchise tag – won’t get a long-term deal with the Bengals. Keeping all three offensive stars seems unrealistic.

Brown doesn’t believe there will be negotiations with Chase anytime soon. He mentioned next year’s offseason as a possible date. “I don’t want to rule anything out, but I can tell you the die is probably cast,” Brown said.