Cincinnati Bengals

All eyes are on the wide receiver position for the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, and that reportedly means a willingness to offer a "massive" signing bonus to Ja'Marr Chase.

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported Friday that the AFC North team "is likely to offer a massive signing bonus to try to convince Chase to sign while still holding to its policy" of not offering guaranteed money outside of the signing bonus for long-term deals.

Quarterback Joe Burrow's contract was the one understandable exception to that policy.

If Chase goes for this, it could mean a higher signing bonus than the $38 million one CeeDee Lamb landed from the Dallas Cowboys before the 2024 campaign.

It is something of a tricky situation for the Bengals' front office considering fellow wide receiver Tee Higgins is a free agent this offseason after playing the 2024 campaign on the franchise tag. The team will have to decide whether it wants to commit an exorbitant amount of resources to the position by keeping them both long term.

But it is nearly impossible to argue against keeping Chase.

After all, he finished with the receiving triple crown in 2024 by leading the league in catches (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17). He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his four seasons in the league and is arguably the best player at his position in the NFL.

His quarterback also wants him back.

"Week in and week out, he continues to make unbelievable plays, makes people miss, scores 50-plus-yard touchdowns," Burrow said when asked about Chase during ESPN's broadcast of the Pro Bowl Games on Thursday. "I mean, I don't know what more he could do to show and prove himself.

"We have several guys like that who have stepped up for us and deserve to be paid, and deserve to be paid what they're worth."

It seems like the Bengals are willing to pay Chase a significant amount.

Tee Higgins is going to get paid a lot of money from a team this offseason, but he's not expected to sign a deal at the very top of the wide-receiver market.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, the sense from some people around the NFL is that Higgins could sign for a deal worth more than Jaylen Waddle in average annual value and more guaranteed money than DeVonta Smith got on his extension from the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the latest episode of The Scoop City podcast (starts at 34:00 mark), The Athletic's Dianna Russini noted that Higgins "wants to have an answer" for what's next in his career "very soon" and he doesn't want things with the Cincinnati Bengals to drag out into the start of free agency.

Waddle signed a three-year, $84.75 million extension ($28.25 million per season) with the Miami Dolphins last offseason. Smith's three-year, $75 million extension with Philadelphia included just under $70 million in guaranteed money.

The $28.25 million average annual salary for Waddle ranks seventh among all receivers. Smith's total guaranteed money is the ninth-most among all players at the position.

All indications are the Bengals won't pay to keep Higgins when they also have to extend Ja'Marr Chase. General manager Duke Tobin told Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday that "it's going to be hard" to keep both receivers.

"We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they're willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody."

Conway reported last offseason that Cincinnati's offer to Higgins "never approached" $20 million per season, so the idea the team would suddenly go to $28-29 million annually on a new deal seems hard to fathom.

It's not like everyone just became aware that Higgins is good and extremely valuable to the Bengals. He averaged more than 1,000 yards and six touchdowns per season in his first three seasons from 2020 to '22.

Joe Burrow spent a lot of time in the final month of the regular season campaigning for the organization to keep Higgins. The Bengals also have to address their defense, which ranked 25th in points allowed this season, if they want to get back to being a top-tier AFC contender in 2025.

The door for Higgins to return to Cincinnati next season might still be open, but it could close quickly depending on how talks between the two sides go leading up to the start of free agency on March 12.

Cincinnati Bengals' director of personnel Duke Tobin offered an update on where the organization stands when it comes to extending superstar wideout Ja'Marr Chase.

"It's a priority for us," he told Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "It's something we feel like there's a framework to work off of. Should be a pretty easy framework to work off of. Guys in his position have recently re-done contracts. We believe in Ja'Marr, he's very important to us. The other guys that have done contracts are very important to their teams. So, we believe there's a real framework to work off of. I would expect that we could come together on something that makes sense for both sides."

That "framework" ostensibly is a reference to the four-year, $140 million deal Justin Jefferson signed with the Minnesota Vikings ($110 million guaranteed) and the four-year, $136 million deal CeeDee Lamb signed with the Dallas Cowboys ($100 million guaranteed) last offseason.

Chase will likely seek to exceed both deals, however, after leading the NFL in catches (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17) during the 2024 season. He was just the sixth player in the Super Bowl era to win the receiving triple crown and the first since Cooper Kupp accomplished the feat in 2021.

Oh, and he's only 24.

Chase will play the 2025 season on a $21.8 million fifth-year option, but extending him for the long term would be the best option for both player and team. The Bengals operated similarly with Joe Burrow in 2023, signing him to a five-year, $275 million extension as he was heading into his option year.

The Burrow extension and pending agreement with Chase may end up costing the Bengals Tee Higgins, who will hit free agency this offseason. Losing Higgins would be a major blow—he registered 73 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games this past season—but the Bengals will head into free agency with $49.9 million in cap space and major decisions about where to best utilize those resources.

Burrow, meanwhile, will have some role in the team's offseason plans. Tobin told Conway that he has already met with the quarterback for his review of the team's strategy:

Burrow has publicly supported the both Chase and Higgins getting new contracts, but it remains to be seen if his lobbying will alter the team's plans.

On the defensive side alone, the Bengals are either going to need to re-sign or replace defensive tackle B.J. Hill, edge-rusher Joseph Ossai, slot cornerback Mike Hilton and linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, among others. Offensively, they'll need to make similar decisions on Higgins, tight end Mike Gesicki and offensive lineman Cody Ford.

Chase is going to get his extension and reset the wideout market, as he should. But it is going to absolutely impact how the Bengals approach the rest of free agency and the draft this offseason.

Joe Burrow's public attempts to encourage the Cincinnati Bengals to keep both of their star wide receivers don't seem likely to pay off.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, executives around the NFL are "skeptical" the Bengals will pay up to give both Tee Higgins a new contract and sign Ja'Marr Chase to a long-term extension.

One executive for an AFC team told Fowler it's "possible" for the Bengals to do it, but they would have to make "significant trade-offs" in other areas on the roster to make it happen.

"They will have close to $70 million a year tied up in receivers, plus the quarterback cost. I think it makes more sense to go the cheap route, especially given the improvements they need to make on defense," the executive said.

It has felt like a foregone conclusion for about 10 months that Higgins would be playing on another team in 2025. The Bengals used the franchise tag last offseason to keep him on the roster for 2024, but they never seemed to seriously engage him in talks for a long-term deal.

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported in April that Cincinnati's offers "never approached" $20 million annually.

Higgins even acknowledged at the start of training camp that the 2024 season "could be the last ride for me and the guys."

After staying silent about the situation for most of the season, Burrow used his voice to make sure the Bengals knew he wanted Higgins back.

While the reputation of Bengals ownership is often unfavorable when it comes to paying up for star players, this is a roster that has several needs to fill that becomes more difficult to do if you're paying two wide receivers top-of-the-market money.

Of course, the Bengals haven't yet proven they are going to pay one receiver at that level. They were in talks with Chase about a long-term deal throughout the summer, but those discussions reportedly broke down over the payout of guaranteed money.

The price tag for Chase was already high going into 2024, but it's probably gone up after he won the receiving triple crown with 127 catches, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns.

On top of a potential record-setting deal for Chase, the Bengals also have to fix a defense that finished 25th in points allowed per game. They allowed at least 25 points in 11 of 17 games this season.

The one great defensive player the Bengals have is Trey Hendrickson, who was threatening to retire and requested a trade last offseason because he wanted a new contract. He wound up playing on his current deal then led the NFL with 17.5 sacks this season.

Now, Hendrickson will be going into the final year of his contract with a $15.8 million base salary. That seems like a situation the Bengals will also have to figure out.

It's a champagne problem to have this many great players, but it's only good for the team if they show a willingness to pay at least some of them to keep their nucleus together and improve on the margins.

Those margins are where the Bengals were significantly hurt this season because they didn't do a good job of building around Burrow, Chase, Higgins and Hendrickson. They're entering an offseason when they might lose Higgins in free agency.

The Cincinnati Bengals are finalizing terms with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden to bring him aboard in the same position on head coach Zac Taylor's staff, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Golden will replace Lou Anarumo, the former Bengals' DC who was let go after six seasons. Anarumo has since agreed to terms to be the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coordinator.

The 55-year-old Golden has been coaching since 1993. He notably turned around Temple's program, turning an 0-11 team the year prior to his arrival (2005) into a 9-4 squad with a bowl game berth in just four short years.

Golden left for Miami in 2011, but the Hurricanes were up-and-down, going 32-25 in his four-plus years before the team parted ways with him.

He then went to the NFL as a position coach with the Detroit Lions (tight ends in 2016 and 2017, linebackers in 2018 and 2019). Golden then left to become the Bengals' linebackers coach (2020-2021) before leaving to become Notre Dame's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2022.

The Fighting Irish defense has excelled, finishing seventh in points allowed in 2023 and fifth in 2024. Notre Dame also went 14-2 en route to finishing as the national runner-up behind Ohio State.

That obviously got Golden noticed, and now the Bengals are bringing him back to Cincinnati in hopes of turning around a defense that was 25th in scoring and yards allowed last year.

A Cincinnati Bengals homecoming could be in the works for Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden.

Albert Breer of The MMQB reported Tuesday that the AFC North team is planning to interview Golden within the next 48 hours as it waits "for the dust to clear" following Notre Dame's loss to Ohio State in Monday's College Football Playoff national championship game.

Breer noted the Bengals also plan to hire him "if everything goes to plan."

Cincinnati needs a new defensive coordinator after firing Lou Anarumo following a disappointing 2024 campaign. The team missed the playoffs despite excellent seasons from quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase in large part because of a defense that finished 25th in the league in yards and points allowed per game.

Anarumo was the D.C. for the 2021 Bengals team that reached the Super Bowl, but the front office felt it was time for a change.

And that could mean bringing back a familiar face who was also on that Super Bowl staff.

Golden was the linebackers coach for Cincinnati for two seasons in 2020 and 2021. The team went from 4-11-1 in his first year to AFC champions in his second, and he could once again have the chance to lead a defensive turnaround after it missed the playoffs in 2024.

The defensive coach was on the Detroit Lions' staff for the four seasons prior to joining the Bengals, but he is best known for his time in the college game. Golden was the head coach of Temple for five seasons from 2005-10 and Miami for five seasons from 2011-15 and went 59-59 overall.

He was 32-25 with the Hurricanes but failed to win a single bowl game during his tenure.

Notre Dame hired him as its D.C. before the 2022 season, meaning he has been with Marcus Freeman for all three years of the latter's tenure as head coach. The Fighting Irish were one of the most impressive stories in college football this season and rallied from a stunning September loss to Northern Illinois to reach the CFP at 11-1.

They also defeated Indiana, Georgia and Penn State in the CFP before falling short against the Buckeyes in the national title game. Their defense was the strong suit of their team and finished fourth in the country in points allowed per game.

Cincinnati was surely impressed by the defensive effort from Notre Dame this past season and reportedly plans to bring him in to help fix its defense.

Four men have been arrested in connection with the December burglary of Joe Burrow's home.

Per court records (h/t Cameron Knight of the Cincinnati Enquirer), the arrests occurred on Jan. 10 when the four men were leaving a La Quinta Hotel in Fairborn, Ohio.

Knight noted the documents did not specifically mention Burrow or the address of the burglary that occurred on Dec. 9, but investigators said "an old LSU shirt and a Bengals hat" that were believed to be stolen were found in a Chevy Blazer being used by the group.

The incident involving Burrow's home is part of what federal investigators believe is a pattern of burglaries targeted to the homes of prominent NFL and NBA stars. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Luka Dončić are among other athletes whose homes have been burglarized in recent months.

Burrow's home was burglarized on the same night the Bengals played the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Monday Night Football.

A Dec. 20 bulletin distributed to U.S. professional athletic associations obtained by CNN's Josh Campbell stated the homes are being "targeted for burglary due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches, and cash."

The bulletin also noted the burglars will often "conduct physical and technical surveillance" ahead of time and "use publicly available information and social media to identify a pattern of life for a prospective victim and often know in advance where valuables are kept in a home."

Knight noted Clark County Municipal Court officials said the four men are being held in custody on $250,000 bond.

Three of the men have been charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, participation in a criminal gang, possessing criminal tools and obstructing official business. It's unclear if the fourth man is in custody, but court documents did state he "spoke more freely with investigators and did not lie about his identity."

The three men who have been charged will appear before a grand jury on Tuesday. Their cases will be moved to the Clark County Court of Common Pleas if they are indicted.

Former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is reportedly "involved" in the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator search, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The 54-year-old Eberflus worked as the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coordinator from 2018-2021 before the Bears hired him as their head coach. Under Eberflus, the Colts finished Top 10 in scoring defense in three of his four seasons.

The Bears hired Eberflus as their head coach in January 2022. Eberflus went 14-32 in two-plus seasons before he was fired on Nov. 29.

Eberflus began his coaching career at Toledo, his alma mater, in 1992. He stayed there until 2000, rising up to defensive backs coach. Eberflus then left for Missouri to serve as the Tigers' defensive coordinator from 2001-2008. He then departed for the NFL, first working as the Cleveland Browns' linebackers coach in 2009 and 2010.

Eberflus held the same job for the Dallas Cowboys from 2011-2015, adding passing game coordinator responsibilities in 2016 and 2017.

The Bengals fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo after six years as DC. The Bengals' defense struggled mightily en route to a 4-8 start but fared better down the stretch in a 5-0 finish. But the Bengals' 9-8 record wasn't good enough. That meant a phenomenal year from the Joe Burrow-Ja'Marr Chase duo was spoiled.

Anarumo, who had much success in past years, was shown the door. Now the Bengals hope to find a new voice in hopes of taking advantage of their powerful offense's window. Perhaps Eberflus is the answer that Cincinnati is seeking.

Cincinnati Bengals players, coaches and fans might spend the next few days, weeks or even months lamenting what could have been during their 2024-25 NFL season.

The front office can't afford to think like that. The offseason's arrival necessitates a full mental shift toward the future, particularly with such a daunting challenge ahead.

As these decision-makers look forward, though, they should remember the good times they've had—in particular, the almost comical levels of passing production produced by the trio of quarterback Joe Burrow and his top two receivers, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Chase needs to collect a mammoth-sized contract extension sooner than later, while Higgins is slated to reach free agency after spending this past campaign on the franchise tag.

Finding the funds to retain all three won't be easy, but letting this special collection of elite talent fracture would be even worse. And everyone knows it, including these three.

"Sources say the three have discussed playing together again for years to come," NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported. "It's their goal, and privately they have made no secret about it."

There will be, of course, a colossal cost to keep them together. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently opined that it might take "around $120 million" to have all three on the roster next season. Burrow is already making $55 million per year, and whenever Chase puts pen to paper on an extension, he might collect the richest salary ever given to a non-quarterback.

If the Bengals extend Chase and re-sign Higgins, who's arguably the top player at any position in free agency, they won't have a lot left to help cover the holes with the rest of their roster. That's not an excuse to let Higgins walk, though, but rather the next problem for the franchise's front office to solve after locking up this uber-talented trio.

Extending Chase and re-signing Higgins should be non-negotiables on Cincinnati's offseason check list. Burrow himself has already said as much.

"Whenever a great player leaves you wish you could have found a way to keep him," Burrow told reporters. "You don't want to make a living out of letting great players leave the building. And I think that's why you gotta do everything you can to get those deals done early."

The Bengals would be wise to heed that advice, and not only because their franchise quarterback delivered it. There's also the very real—and very obvious—fact that the one thing that could make this a special squad in the near future is Burrow routinely picking apart defenders while connecting with Chase and Higgins.

Burrow, for those who hadn't realized, just led the league in passing yards (4,918) and passing touchdowns (43). Chase fared even better, pacing the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and touchdown catches (17). Higgins wasn't quite as productive (73 receptions for 911 yards and 10 scores), but his numbers look a lot better when considering that injuries cost him five contests.

And in the 12 games Higgins played, the Bengals looked an awful lot like a member of the NFL's elite. They went 8-4 in those contests and all four defeats came against playoff teams—all by single-score deficits. They also averaged 34 points in those losses, so it's not like the offense failed to deliver against top competition.

Granted, the fact that 34 points per game weren't enough speaks to the idea that there are other areas to address on this roster. So does the fact that Burrow was sacked 48 times this season, tied for the fourth-most in the league.

In other words, extending Chase and re-signing Higgins won't cure all that ails this team. However, letting the latter walk would not only create a new issue, but it would also take away the one superpower this team has.

Cincinnati's future with Higgins might be tricky, but its future without him is a much taller task that no one associated with the Bengals should want to figure out.

The Cincinnati Bengals' defensive woes throughout the 2024 season were a major factor in the team falling short of the playoffs, and it's caused an overhaul of the coaching staff.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday that Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been fired after six seasons in the position. Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic added that linebackers coach James Bettcher and defensive line coach Marion Hobby have also been fired along with offensive line coach Frank Pollack.

Anarumo's unit ranked 25th in the NFL this season with 348.3 yards allowed per game, a small improvement from the 2023 campaign where Cincinnati ranked 31st in the league with 374.6 yards allowed per game.

The Bengals won their last five games to finish the year with a 9-8 record. Unfortunately, their subpar start to the season was just too much to overcome, as they didn't control their own destiny in Week 18. Cincinnati would've needed losses by the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins to earn the final playoff spot in the AFC, but the Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 38-0.

The lackluster performance of the Bengals' defense wasted an outstanding year by some of their biggest stars. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow led the league with 4,918 yards and 43 passing touchdowns against just nine interceptions. Star receiver Ja'Marr Chase achieved the triple crown, leading the NFL with 127 catches, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson led the league with 17.5 sacks.

It's clear that the Bengals have enough talent to compete with the NFL's elite teams, but they will need the right staff under head coach Zac Taylor to bring out the best in their players.