Safety Jessie Bates said this summer that he hoped to sign a contract extension that would keep him with the Bengals for years to come, but nothing got done before the start of the regular season.
When Bates addressed the lack of movement toward an extension in August, he said that it would be the last time he addressed the topic because “it can get a little messy as far as thinking about it too much.” Bates reversed course on Monday when the topic of his contract came up during a press conference and admitted that the failure to get a deal done is adding some fuel to his efforts on the field.
“I wish it would have got done, obviously,” Bates said, via Paul Dehner of TheAthletic.com. “They got Sam done I was hoping to be the next guy done. . . . My job is to continue to be a good teammate. Continue to get the fans loud when we play at home. Next year, see what happens. . . . I need to continue to show it with my play, I’ll be a little pissed off, for sure.”
Bates led the Bengals with nine tackles in Sunday’s overtime win against the Vikings.