The Cincinnati Bengals placed the franchise tag on safety Jessie Bates in March, meaning Bates would play the upcoming season on the franchise tag number - about $13 million - if he doesn't reach a long-term deal with the team by July 15.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Friday night via Twitter that there isn't a lot of optimism that the Bengals and Bates, 25, will bridge the gap between the tag number and the top of the safety market - in excess of $18 million - before that deadline next week.
Garafolo's tweet:
Bates, who has played his first four NFL seasons in Cincinnati, joined Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie in Las Vegas last week for UFC 276. All three met Israel Adesanya, who defeated Jared Cannonier in the main event.
Burrow showed support for Bates in June, calling him "exactly the kind of player that I think you want to reward for the work that he's done for the last four years through the ups and the downs."
Tyler Dragon of USA TODAY Sports reported in May that Bates hadn't signed the one-year contract, and doesn't plan to. Dragon reported that Bates has "no intentions" of playing the 2022 season under the franchise tag.
The Enquirer's Kelsey Conway reported in March that the Bengals’ second-round pick in 2018 changed his agent and hired David Mulugheta of Athletes First to handle his extension process.
"There's some interesting conversations that will be coming up here soon," Bates told "NFL Now" in February. "Hopefully I'll still be a part of that there in Cincinnati. But there's just something special about the group - the young guys that we have in there. There's a lot of good things to come there in Cincinnati whether I'm there or not."
ESPN's survey of more than 50 league executives, coaches, scouts and players ranked Bates the league's No. 6 overall safety.
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