The Cincinnati Bengals locked in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for the next four years, which was one of their main goals of the offseason. Chase is now the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history, and Higgins is the highest-paid WR2. With them getting those deals done, the Bengals should almost be prepared for next season to compete and get back to the playoffs.
Surprisingly, one of the biggest questions for the Bengals now is if the deals for Chase and Higgins make them a better team.
“This is the most sobering question that cuts through the euphoria of bringing back Chase and Higgins,” ESPN's Ben Baby wrote.”
“There's no guarantee this actually makes Cincinnati better. Chase was arguably the best receiver in the league last season,” Baby continued. “Burrow was an MVP finalist but was the only top-5 vote-getter whose team didn't make the playoffs. Higgins is the one who can raise his ceiling the most given the soft-tissue injuries that forced him to miss five games last season.”
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Chase has shown that he can take over a game by himself, but with Higgins on the field as well, it makes the Bengals a much better offensive team. Another worry is what will the defense look like, especially if Trey Hendrickson doesn't return.
Joseph Ossai thinks that both Chase and Higgins make the Bengals' defense better.
“It allows us to play free and just have that mindset — all we have to do is get the ball back to the offense,” Ossai said. “If you know that and 75% of the time the offense has the ball and they're going to drive there and score it, you can do whatever you want as a defense.”
If all sides of the ball are clicking for the Bengals, there's no doubt that they're a playoff team, the only hope is that the entire team can be on the same page at the same time.