No Kansas City Chiefs fan likes the Cincinnati Bengals and the feeling is mutual, which makes seeing each other's potential downfalls all the more exciting.
After the Bengals beat the Chiefs in an embarrassing AFC Championship game, now several years ago, Cincinnati fans crowned themselves as the elite competitor to Kansas City, though poor roster decisions and unfortunate Joe Burrow injuries have kept them on the sidelines in the playoffs.
This was a critical offseason for the Bengals, facing important decisions on Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson. They've at least chosen two of them, though the disastrous moves likely mean they'll never be in a realistic position to challenge the Chiefs in the near future.
BREAKING: #Bengals WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins exclusively tell me they’ve agreed to contract extensions with the team.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 17, 2025
Ja'Marr gets: 4-years, $161M with $112M guaranteed — making him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history.
Tee gets: 4-years, $115M with the first two… pic.twitter.com/zbdnEDELgz
Bengals Make Hilarious Roster-Building Mistakes in Free Agency
According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, Cincinnati signed Chase to a $161 million extension and Higgins to a $115 million one, both over four years, while Hendrickson's trade request hangs over the team. They're reportedly trying to keep the All-Pro pass rusher, but it's a lot harder now.
Purely from a cap-management perspective, it's hard to argue that general manager Duke Tobin did his job. The Bengals, by most measures, had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year. Instead of investing on the defense, Cincinnati is now in a position to decline even further in favor of propping up Burrow's meaningless statistics.
The Chiefs have been maligned for struggles at wide receiver over the last two seasons, yet their exceptional defensive production propelled them to three consecutive Super Bowls. Balance is necessary and if your quarterback is actually elite, he doesn't need two $100 million receivers. Burrow has long been overrated based on his actual results, and these moves suggest that Cincinnati doesn't believe in him the same way that Kansas City believes in Mahomes.
If Hendrickson gets his desired trade, this will be a worse Bengals team than the one that just missed the playoffs. It's inexcusable, though a beautiful sight for Chiefs fans laughing along the way. One organization has figured out how to build around its star signal caller, the other is giving him training wheels even when he already knows how to ride a bike.
Don't worry, Kansas City, the Bengals won't be a legitimate threat for years to come barring some unexpected moves from Tobin.