Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has found a new team.
The Ravens announced they’ve agreed to terms with Awuzie on a one-year contract.
Awuzie, 29, spent last season with the Titans. The former second-round pick appeared in eight games with seven starts, recording 26 total tackles with four passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble.
The Titans released Awuzie earlier this month.
Awuzie spent his first four seasons with the Cowboys then played three years for the Bengals. He’s recorded 66 passes defensed with seven interceptions in 94 career games.
They were teammates at LSU. They’re now the two highest-paid receivers in the NFL.
So how do the contracts signed by Justin Jefferson of the Vikings and Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals compare?
As it relates to new-money annual average (an often flawed way to value contracts), Jefferson is at $35 million per year and Chase is at $40.25 million. (Given the bloated final year of the deal, Chase’s real new-money APY is more like $38.728 million.)
Here are some other apples-to-apples comparisons of the two contracts.
Regarding full guarantees at signing, Jefferson has $88.743 million through Year 1, $95.743 million through Year 2, and $110 million through Year 3. Chase has $73.9 million through Year 1, $103.9 million through Year 2, and $112 million through Year 3.
Remove the per-game roster bonuses from the calculations, and Jefferson’s numbers are $87.723 million, $94.723 million, and $108.98 million. For Chase, they’re $72.9 million, $101.9 million, and $109 million.
The injury guarantee at signing is $110 million for Jefferson and $109.8 million for Chase.
On cash flow, the numbers favor Chase. Through Year 1, Jefferson is at $38.063 million and Chase is at $41.16 million. Through Year 2, Jefferson is at $69.993 million and Chase is at $75 million. Through Year 3, Jefferson is at $95.743 million and Chase is at $105 million. Through Year 4, Jefferson is at $125.743 million and Chase is at $138 million. Through Year 5, Jefferson is at $159.743 million and Chase is at $182.816 million. (Again, Chase’s final year is bloated.)
Removal of the per-game active roster bonuses makes things considerably tighter, since Chase has $5 million tied to being able to suit up and play. Jefferson’s number is roughly $2 million.
Both deals are very strong. While Chase’s deal is better on all metrics, it’s not dramatically better. And the cap doesn’t reflect the low-hanging, oft-misleading new-money APY gap.
The Bengals signed free agent offensive guard Lucas Patrick to a one-year contract, the team announced Friday.
Patrick recently visited Cincinnati.
A year ago, Patrick signed a one-year deal with the Saints and started 10 games for the team before landing on injured reserve. He has appeared in 107 career regular-season games with 64 starts for the Packers (2017-21), Bears (2022-23) and Saints (2024).
Patrick has seen action in five postseason games with three starts for Green Bay.
The Bengals released Alex Cappa and re-signed Cody Ford earlier in the offseason. They also have Cordell Volson on hand at guard while Ted Karras remains in place at center.
The Texans have struck a deal with another veteran offensive tackle.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus told reporters that his client Trent Brown has agreed to a one-year deal with Houston. The deal is worth up to $3 million.
The Texans reached a deal with former Jaguar and Viking Cam Robinson earlier this week in a move that should fill the left tackle hole they opened by trading Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders.
Brown could join Blake Fisher in the mix for the starting job at right tackle or serve as a swing tackle this year. He played three games for the Bengals before tearing his patellar tendon last season. He had previous runs as a starter for the Patriots, Raiders, and 49ers with some of his time in New England coming at the same time that Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley was on the Patriots staff.
The Bengals have paid superstar receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Under the strict new-money APY analysis, he’s now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history — at $40.25 million per year.
But the devil always resides in the details — and, as shown below, the devil has taken a pitchfork to that $40.25 million number.
Here are the details, per a source with knowledge of the terms:
1. 2025 offseason roster bonus: $32 million, fully guaranteed.
2. 2025 offseason workout bonus: $100,000, fully guaranteed but must be earned.
3. 2025 base salary: $8.07 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2025 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total, fully guaranteed but must be earned.
5. 2026 option bonus: $15 million, fully guaranteed.
6. 2026 offseason workout bonus: $100,000, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of 2026 league year (but must be earned).
7. 2026 base salary: $17.73 million, fully guaranteed.
8. 2026 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of 2026 league year (but must be earned).
9. 2027 option bonus: $5 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
10. 2027 offseason workout bonus: $100,000, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of 2027 league year (but must be earned).
11. 2027 base salary: $23.9 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
12. 2027 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of 2027 league year (but must be earned).
13. 2028 offseason workout bonus: $100,000.
14. 2028 base salary: $31.9 million, $7 million of which is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2027 league year.
15. 2028 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total.
16. 2029 offseason workout bonus: $500,000.
17. 2029 base salary: $43.316 million.
18. 2029 per-game roster bonus: $1 million total.
The deal includes an annual $250,000 incentive triggered by 65-percent playing time and the Bengals winning the Super Bowl.
The deal pays out $73.9 million fully guaranteed at signing, with another $30 million that vests as fully guaranteed in March 2026. In March 2027, another $8.1 million becomes fully guaranteed.
The practical guarantee is $103.9 million, since the Bengals won’t be cutting Chase before next March. And he’s likely guaranteed to earn the full $105 million over the next three years.
If he’s still playing at a high level, he’ll likely get the $33 million in 2028, too. The red flag is 2029 — a team-held option at $44.816 million.
That’s what we call a phony-baloney back-end number aimed at pumping up the new-money APY. If we drop 2209 from the equation, the five-year, $182.816 million deal (four years, $162 million in “new money”) becomes a four-year, $138 million deal ($34.5 million per year).
Given the “old money” of $21.816 million, that leaves three years at $116 million in new money. For a far more accurate “new money” average of $38.728 million.
It’s still good, but not $40.25 million. And it makes Chase, in reality, not the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Over the weekend, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins traded in a fully-guaranteed $26.16 million franchise tender and a shot at free agency in 2026 for a four-year deal.
So what did he get? Here are the details, per a source with knowledge of the terms:
1. 2025 offseason 90-man roster bonus: $20 million, not guaranteed but due five days after signing.
2. 2025 offseason workout bonus: $100,000.
3. 2025 base salary: $13.8 million, not guaranteed at signing.
4. 2025 active per-game roster bonus: $2 million total.
5. 2026 offseason 90-man roster bonus: $10 million, fully guaranteed, with offset language.
6. 2026 offseason workout bonus: $100,000.
7. 2026 base salary: $10.9 million, fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
8. 2026 active per-game roster bonus: $2 million total.
9. 2027 offseason 90-man roster bonus: $5 million.
10. 2027 offseason workout bonus: $100,000.
11. 2027 base salary: $19.2 million.
12. 2027 active per-game roster bonus: $2 million total.
13. 2028 offseason workout bonus: $500,000.
14. 2028 base salary: $27.3 million.
15. 2028 active per-game roster bonus: $2 million total.
The contract includes a two-tiered incentive package in each of the four seasons. If Higgins participates in 65 percent of the plays and the Bengals win the AFC Championship, he gets $1 million. If he participates in 65 percent of the plays and they win the Super Bowl, he gets $1.7 million.
Nothing in 2025 is guaranteed; however, the $20 million roster bonus is earned five days after Higgins puts pen to paper. The only true full guarantee at signing is the $10 million 2026 offseason roster bonus.
The Bengals have, as a practical matter, a year-to-year option. They can pay him $35.9 million for 2025 (if he dresses for every game and earns the $2 million in per-game roster bonuses), and they can move on before the 2026 base salary becomes fully guaranteed. (It’s not guaranteed for injury.)
Because the $10 million guaranteed 2026 roster bonus has offset language, they’d likely owe him nothing if they cut him after one year — since he’d likely make more elsewhere.
As a practical matter, it’s a two-year, $29.45 million per year contract. But they’re not fully committed to year two. It truly could be a one-year, $35.9 million deal.
Put simply, the contract gives Higgins $9.74 million more than the tag for 2025, and $10 million in (as a practical matter) injury insurance for 2026. While it’s his prerogative to take the deal, some would have opted to play on the tag in 2025 and hit unrestricted free agency in 2026.
One last point. Although per-game roster bonuses are regarded as part of the base package, this deal has a total of $8 million tied to Higgins being able to suit up every week. He has missed 10 games over the past two seasons; that would cost him $1.17 million under his new contract.
The Bengals are scheduled to meet with a potential addition to the interior of their offensive line.
Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reports that guard Lucas Patrick is set to arrive in Cincinnati on Thursday night and to meet with the Bengals on Friday.
Patrick signed a one-year deal with the Saints last offseason and started 10 games for the team before landing on injured reserve. He also started 54 games for the Packers and Bears over the first seven years of his career.
The Bengals released Alex Cappa and re-signed Cody Ford earlier in the offseason. They also have Cordell Volson on hand at guard while Ted Karras remains in place at center.
The Bengals have been cheap, for many years. Their franchise quarterback has forced them, for once, to not be cheap.
And they’re bragging about it.
The Bengals took to Twitter with an “in your face"-style video (“Actions Speak Louder”) to those in the media who believed the Bengals would behave the same way the Bengals always have. Ultimately, the Bengals broke character — presumably after they realized Burrow would eventually break up with them, if not sooner.
In recent weeks, Burrow sent multiple public messages regarding his belief that the Bengals can, and should, find a way to pay receiver Ja’Marr Chase and receiver Tee Higgins. And it’s fair to conclude that the team’s abrupt turn from planning to tag and trade Higgins to signing him happened after a private message was sent from Burrow that he expected Higgins to be done.
The Bengals didn’t wake up one day and decide to embark on a new, free-spending approach to business. Burrow put a proverbial gun to their head. They did something they didn’t want to do.
Which means it’s possibly an aberration and not the start of a trend.
So if they’re going to brag, they’d better be ready to continue. Pay Trey Hendrickson. Pay other deserving players. Hire more than four scouts, so that the team will do a better job of drafting the young players who will become the stars of tomorrow.
The Bengals are acting as if they’ve turned the page to a new reality that will be characterized by lavish spending and a fresh obsession with winning at all costs. Bookmark the tweet. Let’s see what happens.
Watch the expenditures limited by a salary cap. More importantly, watch the expenditures that aren’t. Will they beef up scouting? Will they otherwise spare no expense to lay the foundation to maximize the window of opportunity for winning championship(s) under Burrow?
Who knows what they’ll do? But I know this. The moment they revert to pinching pennies on anything, they’ll be reminded about their victory lap for finally behaving the way they should have been behaving for years.
If they’re smart, they won’t let that happen during the balance of Burrow’s prime.
Quarterback is back.
After a one-year hiatus, driven by the fact that the producers couldn’t find anyone to do it, the Netflix Quarterback series will return for 2025.
Netflix announced the move on Wednesday, with a trailer featuring the three subjects of the show: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Last year, the effort pivoted to a quintet of pass catchers, and it was dubbed Receiver.
The 2025 show will undoubtedly chronicle the trio of quarterbacks’ respective 2024 seasons, only one of which culminated in a playoff berth. And since the show won’t be landing until July, there’s a chance the storylines will trickle into the offseason — with Burrow pushing the Bengals to quit being so cheap with other players and with Cousins trying to finagle an exit from Atlanta.
Other obvious topics for consideration will be the December robbery of Burrow’s home by a group (allegedly) of Chilean nationals, the benching of Cousins for Michael Penix, Jr., and the failure of the Lions to get beyond the divisional round of the playoffs despite sky-high expectations.
Receiver Ja’Marr Chase has signed a five-year deal to remain with the Bengals. During Tuesday’s press conference to announce the new contracts signed both by Chase and by teammate Tee Higgins, Chase was asked what it was about Cincinnati (other than the money) that made him choose to commit.
And Chase said in the most tactful and positive way positive that, basically, there’s nothing to do.
“For me, I like Cincinnati because it gives me the opportunity to come here and focus,” Chase said. “You know, I’m not distracted out here. It’s not . . . too many things to get me off pace out out here, you know, and it’s strictly what I’m focused on. And that’s really tunnel vision for me to play football. So, I mean, at the end of the day, the food’s not the best. We can work out that, but . . . . I’m from New Orleans, I’m not used to the food yet. But, you know, overall, I mean, honestly, I just think that’s the biggest picture for me. Is that, you know, I don’t have no distractions here. I can just play football.”
He laughed when he said “the food’s not the best.” (It’s not exactly a controversial take.) But the broader point is that Cincinnati is one of those cities (and there are more than a few) where there aren’t the kinds of things that will keep a guy in his 20s from taking care of business.
Besides, it’s a far cry from the comments former NFL running back Willis McGahee once made about Buffalo.
For Higgins, the answer was simpler. He’s one of the few NFL players who has made a career with the team he followed as a youth.
“Man, I grew up a Bengals fan,” Higgins said. “And to have the opportunity to sign a four-year deal with my favorite team that I grew up watching, that’s a dream come true. . . . I couldn’t be at a better place.”
That makes the Higgins deal even more meaningful. Especially since it seemed that, not long ago, the Bengals were apparently willing to tag and trade him.
