The Bengals' big-play receivers have done it again in Paycor Stadium's biggest one-night bonanza.
According to Sunday's published reports, the Bengals have reached long-term deals with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to keep intact the NFL's leading pass offense.
Chase, the third receiver this century to win the NFL's receiving triple crown, reportedly became the NFL's richest non-quarterback. Higgins, the only player the Bengals have given the franchise tag two straight years, cashed one of the biggest receiver deals ever.
The deals also keep intact the Bengals' most prolific scoring offense of all-time.
With Chase dancing to a franchise-best 17 touchdowns and Higgins high-pointing to a career-best 10, the Bengals racked up 472 points on the wings of quarterback Joe Burrow’s NFL-leading 43 touchdown passes.
Chase, who turned 25 last week, is coming off his fourth straight Pro Bowl season and first as an All-Pro when he became the first player to score 17 touchdowns while catching more than 1,700 yards. He became the sixth receiver in the Super Bowl era to lead the NFL in touchdowns, yards and catches with 127. All Bengals records.
The deal continues the escapades of Chase and Burrow, LSU teammates who engineered a perfect national championship season in 2019 before the Bengals made Burrow the first overall draft pick of the 2020s and followed it up by taking Chase with the fifth pick in the 2021 draft.
"He works for it. He grinds for it. He's a once-in-a-lifetime-type player and our careers will forever be tied together from college into the pro landscape," Burrow said of Chase late last season. "That's just fun to be a part of."