Duke Tobin: Jessie Bates is a guy we want going…
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Jessie Bates wants to stay in Cincinnati on a long-term deal. The Bengals want the same thing and are working on that.
“I’m not going to break any news today on that,” Bengals director of personnel Duke Tobin said, via Kelsey Conway of The Enquirer. “That’s something we’ll decide here in the next few days. As far as Jessie Bates, he’s an important part of our team. We drafted him. He’s a guy that developed and that has played well that has a real role on our team in a lot of different areas, particularly in leadership and play-making skill. He’s a guy we want going forward. We want him to be a part of our group, so we’ll see what we can do to get that done.”
The Bengals have until March 8 to get a long-term deal completed with Bates without using the franchise tag. Bates made it clear last week that he, like most players, wants no part of the tag. It will, however, buy the team time to complete a deal.
Bates, 25, made 88 tackles and an interception last season.
“Jessie’s approach has been tremendous all year,” coach Zac Taylor said. “I’ve really been proud of him. He’s a big part of what we do. We’re really proud of how he’s led this team and how he’s played for us, really over the last four years.”
