Joe Burrow Taking An Important Trip With Defensive Captain Jessie Bates
Joe Burrow is the glue to the Bengals organization. He is a great competitor and a role model in the locker room. Players have gravitated to Cincinnati because of him. There is a new narrative mainly due to him. In the offseason, Burrow is known to be “The Closer.”
Burrow already helped close a primarily brand new offensive line. This offseason, the Bengals brought in Ted Karras (former New England Patriots Center), Alex Cappa (former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Right Guard), and La’el Collins (former Dallas Cowboys Tackle), all with the help of Joe Burrow’s closing abilities. First, however, someone on the team needs to be persuaded to stay on the team.
That player is named Jessie Bates.
Joe Burrow and his trip to Vegas
In Joe Burrows’s latest press conference on June 14th, he mentioned that he would be taking several trips before training camp. He enjoys hanging out with the guys before it’s time to work. However, one trip is a special one. Cincinnati Bengals Safety Jessie Bates will be accompanying Burrow to Vegas. Of course, the trip will be relaxing and enjoyable, but there could also be the business to attend to.
The latest on Bates is that he has no desire to play under the franchise tag, per Tyler Dragon of USA TODAY. Instead, the Bengals would like Bates to be convinced that playing for rings would be greater than a paycheck he may or may not deserve. In some cases, you can say he deserves top money for a Safety, but last season was by far his worst till the Bengals got to the playoffs.
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La’el Collins was wined and dined and convinced on taking a contract less than his actual market value to guard one of the best quarterbacks in the game. Jessie Bates already knows what could happen if he leaves for more money. He could never have another Super Bowl chance again.
How Joe Burrow views Jessie Bates as a person and a player
In the latest June 14th press conference, Burrow was asked a few questions about Bates.
He was asked his thoughts on Jessie Bates and how much he would like to see him play in training camp. This is his response.
Jessie is a big part of this team and you can put a price tag on what he does on the field but I don’t think you can with what he does in the locker room. He has been the type of guy that has built what we are doing here. He was one of the first and Jessie is the type of player that you want to award for the work that he has done for the last four years through the ups and the downs. We weren’t the first three years he was here but he has been through it all. We hope everything works out in his favor. He is working hard in the weight room, he is looking great, and he will be ready to go whenever he gets here. Business is business. Joe Burrow
Then he was asked how he would characterize Bates’s leadership as a person.
He is one of those guys that I talk about wanting to hang around anyone on the team and sit around the table and hang out. That’s the kind of guy he is. He can have a conversation with any one of the guys and make them feel welcome. Those types of guys are invaluable to an organization trying to achieve what we are trying to achieve. Joe Burrow
Here is the entire Joe Burrow press conference
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News related to Jessie Bates
This afternoon according to Ian Rapaport, the Pittsburgh Steelers extended Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The new contract is four years worth $73.6 million with $36 million guaranteed. A former writer and content creator for the Bengals, Joe Goodberry, thinks this is achievable.
$36M guaranteed is very reasonable. Marcus Williams got $37M Justin Simmons got $35M Buddha Baker got $33M Jessie Bates should accept no less. https://t.co/KMNz2p3xDc — Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) June 15, 2022
The Bengals have till July 15th to strike a deal. Either way, Joe Burrow has assured us that Bates will be there for training camp. The waiting game continues, but at least we have a benchmark for what his contract could look like.