Major NFL Salary Cap Expert Proposes Bengals Keep WR Over Ja’Marr Chase

Over The Cap’s Jason Fitsgerald had a zagging idea for how the Bengals can manage their player financials best over the next few seasons: Signing wide receiver Tee Higgins long-term and letting Ja’Marr Chase walk in free agency.

The Over The Cap founder dove into the idea on his podcast.

“I know that I’m in the minority on this one,” Fitzgerald said.

“I think you would be better off trying to work out a deal with Higgins and trading Ja’Marr Chase. I think Higgins can be more consistent. I think it might end up being a little bit more of a reasonable deal. And I think you can get more in return for Chase. But I don’t think they’re going to do that. I think that they’re just going to decide that Chase is the higher pick, and so that’s who they are going to go with.”

It’s outside the box, but not insane to pick Higgins over Chase, given the potential return for Chase and the slightly lower expected salary for Higgins. Still, Chase and Joe Burrow are one of the most prolific offensive combos in the NFL.

Splitting them up would have to result in a massive haul of assets.