Bengals News (3/8): Tag talk

Bengals Tag Bates In Offseason's First Step
"Jessie has been an outstanding player here for four years," said Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn in a news release. "Over the past year, we've tried to extend his contract here in Cincinnati, and while that hasn't come to pass, we want him here for 2022 to be a part of what we think should be an exciting football season and bright future for our organization."

NFL 2022 free agent fit for each AFC team: Chiefs get No. 2 WR, Bengals land franchise OT
Unfortunately, Cincinnati's poor offensive line was its untimely demise in Super Bowl LVI. The Bengals need help at the tackle position and have $48.4 million in salary cap space to improve the offensive line. Armstead is the franchise left tackle Cincinnati seeks, allowing just one sack in 263 pass-blocking snaps last season, having an 85.6 pass-blocking grade (fifth-best among tackles last year).

Safety Jessie Bates III, with 'a real role on our team,' lands franchise tag from Cincinnati Bengals
The franchise tag allows the Bengals to be in prime position to retain Bates' services for the 2022 season. The franchise tender amount for safeties is $12.911 million, according to a memo obtained by ESPN on Monday.

Bengals might prefer a Laken Tomlinson over a Terron Armstead, Brandon Scherff
It’s understandable Cincinnati Bengals fans might want the team to be in on free agency’s biggest offensive linemen names in order to fix Joe Burrow’s line. On paper, that would mean gunning after an offensive tackle like Terron Armstead of the Saints or a big-time guard like Brandon Scherff of the Commanders.

Bengals cap space update after Jessie Bates tag, NFL salary cap set
The second was the NFL making the $208.2 million salary cap official, a $25.7 million per team increase. Most projections all year worked with similar numbers, but it’s still official now and on the books.

Cincinnati Bengals TE Drew Sample, wife looking to extract family members from war-torn Ukraine
"For us, we've just been trying to see if there's anything we can do to set up a plan where we can get them to us so they feel comfortable leaving, because it's obviously dangerous for them," Drew Sample told Fox News.

Four Thoughts on Cincinnati Bengals Following the 2022 NFL Combine
Pollack admitted he was proud of his guys, but also acknowledged that they needed to improve. He didn't rule out moving Jonah Williams from left tackle and made it clear that they're looking for as many "alpha males" as possible—both in free agency and the draft.

Around the league

Aaron Rodgers, Packers agree to terms on four-year, $200M extension
The Packers and the all-world quarterback have agreed to terms on a four-year, $200 million extension that makes him the highest-paid player on an annual basis in NFL history, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday. The reigning MVP will get a whopping $153 million guaranteed and his cap number will go down.

2022 NFL franchise tag tracker: Who received tag ahead of March 8 deadline?
Browns tight end David Njoku was the first player to receive a franchise tag this offseason, but many more players are in consideration for the designation. Teams and franchise players have until mid-July to work out a multi-year contract extension. If an extension isn't reached by that point, the player and team can only agree to a one-year deal for the current season.

2022 NFL free agency: Notable departures for all 32 teams
Below is a team-by-team breakdown of notable player departures during the 2022 NFL free agency period. This tracker will be updated as roster moves play out across the NFL. Jump to a specific team by clicking on one of the eight divisions below.

2022 NFL free agency: Players who could be overpriced, underpriced
There are some centers without Jensen's brand name (Bradley Bozeman, Ben Jones) who could be better values. I also worry about paying offensive linemen whose careers hit another level after they played with Tom Brady. Jensen is a leader for the Bucs and has more value to them than he would to other teams.