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Ja’Marr Chase is fantasy football’s top wide receiver<\/p>\n
USAT’s Joe Rivera and Jacob Camenker discuss why Ja’Marr Chase is in Jacob’s elite tier of fantasy wide receivers.<\/p>\n
Sports Seriously<\/p>\n
Few players, if any, have been as productive on the defensive side of the ball during the last two NFL seasons as Trey Hendrickson<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>\u2019 edge rusher has a salary for the 2025 season that properly reflects his value. According to multiple reports, the Bengals and Hendrickson agreed to a raise<\/a> that will pay him $30 million (up from the original $16 million he was scheduled to make) this season.<\/p>\n Obviously, the bonus is a victory for Hendrickson. The Bengals are more than pleased to get him going with their Week 1<\/a> game against the Cleveland Browns<\/a> less than two weeks away. They are the winners in this scenario. But are the two sides both also losers? Let\u2019s examine. \u00a0<\/p>\n WINNERSTrey Hendrickson<\/p>\n He is $14 million richer this season \u2013 which amounts to a 46.7% raise, not bad for this economy \u2013 and has the chance to earn an additional $1 million if he plays 60% of snaps this season and the Bengals make the playoffs (per ESPN). He\u2019s still a free agent after this season and should his production rival his past few campaigns, teams will be lining up for his services next offseason.<\/p>\n Joe Burrow<\/p>\n Listening to the franchise quarterback is never a bad idea. After the Bengals missed the playoffs last season, Burrow immediately turned up the pressure on Cincinnati ownership and the front office by using his media tour the week of the Super Bowl to stump for the Bengals\u2019 trio of new-deal seekers: wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja\u2019Marr Chase, and Hendrickson. It took more than six months, but \u201cJoe Cool\u201d got his wish.<\/p>\n Cincinnati Bengals<\/p>\n Not breaking any news here by saying Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor\u2019s team is better with Hendrickson on the field than he is wearing sweats on the sidelines. Even with first-round pick Shemar Stewart \u2013 he also of Bengals contract conundrum lore \u2013 in the fold, the team lacks high-level pass-rushing ability outside of Hendrickson. Not having him could have been disastrous for a defense that tied for seventh-most points surrendered in 2024.<\/p>\n Al Golden<\/p>\n Taylor let defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo go after last season and brought in former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. With Hendrickson signed and not having to be replaced, Golden can use the elite pass-rusher\u2019s skills to his advantage.<\/p>\n T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett<\/p>\n The AFC North division foes of Hendrickson each signed their megadeals earlier in the offseason, with Watt<\/a> eclipsing Garrett\u2019s temporary status<\/a> as the game\u2019s highest-paid defender. But at $41 million and $40 million per year, respectively, they did much better than Hendrickson despite all three being around the same age. \u00a0<\/p>\n LOSERSBengals<\/p>\n The team endured what felt like a never-ending offseason of contract drama by not addressing the Hendrickson situation once they took care of Chase and Higgins. Did it take Mike Brown and the front office all this time to simply find $15 million in the couch cushions? The Bengals are the least valuable NFL team, but last I checked, that figure is still more than \u2026 $5 billion. Billion. With a \u201cB.\u201d<\/p>\n Hendrickson<\/p>\n He leaves this standoff with 2025 being a \u201cprove-it\u201d year and no long-term security, which he stated throughout the holdout (hold in?) as his primary goal of the negotiation. According to The Athletic, the Bengals offered a three-year, $95 million deal with no guaranteed money from the second year on. And the team still holds the power of the franchise tag heading into 2026.<\/p>\n Micah Parsons<\/p>\n