John Sheeran discusses why the Cincinnati Bengals are already seeing big gains from paying receivers Ja'marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00The Bengals are currently experiencing the hidden benefits behind paying both Jamar Chase and T
00:04Higgins and in this video I'll explain how it's exactly what one of their youngest players needs.
00:12Hi again Bengals fans. John Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati here and OTAs are well underway
00:17into the second week and we're seeing some dimes from Joe Burrow to Jamar Chase. We're seeing T
00:22Higgins make some catches over the middle. It's very nice to see the Bengals two-star receivers
00:26being fully involved and participating in this part of the offseason and that of course was the
00:31expectation right after they got paid their massive contracts back in the spring they're doing
00:35everything in their power to get ready for the season and live up to those contracts. Of course
00:39when it comes to what they do on the field the Bengals don't expect anything different with
00:43Chase and Higgins. They expect them to continue to make the same remarkable plays that they've made
00:48for about half a decade now but like any job in any industry when you get paid more typically end up
00:53having more responsibilities and this is a reality when it comes to veterans in the NFL when you become
00:58one of the highest paid players not only on your team but around the entire league players will
01:03naturally gravitate toward you more so than they already were and it makes total sense right if
01:07you're a young player in an NFL locker room and you want to have the same or similar career to a guy
01:11who just got paid 160 million dollars over the course of the next four years naturally you want to try
01:16to emulate everything that that guy does. The team captains the voices of reason the guys that people look to
01:21for leadership in your locker room are typically making more money than pretty much everyone else
01:26and that right there is the difference the Bengals are expecting from both Chase and Higgins
01:29especially compared to this time last year. Nobody needs a reminder of how the 2024 offseason went
01:34for both Chase and Higgins when Chase was dealing with contract extension talks he was sitting out
01:39of voluntary workouts he was holding in during training camp. Higgins of course signed his franchise
01:43tender around this time last year in the middle of June and he showed up for training camp and he was a good
01:47sport about it but obviously that wasn't the outcome that he would have preferred either. When they were too
01:50wrapped up in the uncertainties of their future and whether or not they were going to get paid
01:53I don't think they could take the necessary steps to become the leaders that the receiver rooms or really the
01:57offense in general needed last year and on top of that it was the first offseason that the coaching staff
02:02didn't have Tyler Boyd's leadership in that locker room helping them out. When Higgins and Chase came to
02:06Cincinnati in 2020 and 2021 respectively Boyd had already been paid he was growing into that leader of the room
02:12he was basically the old head of the room by the time that he left in 2024. The developments of both
02:17Higgins and Chase not only as players but as professionals off the field can be largely attributed
02:21to having Boyd as that true leadership presence and I bring all this up now because this week was
02:26the first time that we've heard Jermaine Burden speak since the end of his tumultuous rookie season
02:30and Burden was very open with reporters about what he needs to do better the consistency that he needs
02:35to gain this year as a professional and he also specifically mentioned both Chase and Higgins
02:39as key figures to his ongoing growth saying quote Chase and T have done a really good job
02:43helping me in and out of the facility talking with me coming up with better ways listening to
02:48some of their habits and ways they stay consistent. This is what Burden needed last year when he was
02:52entering the NFL and there was a lot of questions about his character and his work ethic and clearly
02:56a lot of those questions were verified with how his rookie season unfolded but again with Chase and
03:01Higgins so distracted with their own futures I don't think they could have become the leaders
03:04that Burden needed but now that they're paid and taken care of they can comfortably establish
03:08themselves as true leaders in the locker room and people that guys like Burden can turn to. It's entirely
03:13true that since the 2022 team went to the AFC Championship there's been a massive exodus in
03:18leadership from this Bengals locker room and the young guys from that team need to eventually fill
03:22the shoes of the guys who are no longer here. It's still the beginning of June but this is the exact
03:27time when those shoes can be filled and it does sound like both T and Jamar are taking it upon
03:31themselves to do it. It truly does pay to pay your stars and maybe there's a lesson there with another
03:36all pro on the team. I don't know, just food for thought.
03:39coming out, Scott.