The Bengals made the biggest splash over the weekend by FINALLY extending their number one and two receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase signed a massive four-year contract worth $161 million, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback. Higgins became the highest-paid wider receiver, signing for four years for $115 million, making him the highest-paid number two receiver in NFL history.
Ross Tucker dove into those signings and some of the other latest NFL free agency moves from the weekend on the latest episode of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast.
Tucker shared that for Bengals fans, these two signings bring both good and bad news. The good news is that the Brown family finally did it. They finally spent some money and signed both of the team’s top receivers to four-year deals. Tucker will be watching closely to see what will happen with Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, but he adds that the singing of Chase and Higgins is a momentous occasion. To his point, Tucker shared that he knew Bengals fans were skeptical of whether ownership would open their pocketbooks and sign these two players.
“Good news and bad news for Bengals fans…”
“…the good news? The Bengals did it!”
“The bad news is them waiting as long as they did for both players cost them a bunch of money…”@RossTuckerNFL reacts to the Bengals’ deals with Ja’Marr Chase & Tee Higgins:@LabattUSA #ad MSG… pic.twitter.com/XHtE5fQjFz
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) March 17, 2025
In other free agency news from over the weekend, the Falcons adjusted quarterback Kirk Cousins’ contract, converting his roster bonus from the 2026 season into $10 million fully guaranteed. He is due for $27 million guaranteed this season. Tucker humorously shared that Cousins and his agent need to give classes on leverage and maximizing value for a player. He added that the Washington Commanders are partially responsible for this because they could have given Cousins what he deserved early on and had a franchise quarterback for a long time; however, they were not interested in a long-term relationship with Cousins.
Meanwhile, former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver and Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp signed a three-year deal worth $45 million with the Seattle Seahawks. Tucker shared that he LOVES when players can return to the areas where they grew up, especially those towards the end of their careers, giving them the opportunity to set things up once they are finished playing. In last week’s episode, he mentioned that Greg Cosell was not exceptionally high on Kupp. However, Tucker said that it seemed that teams showed strong interest in Kupp. Further, he was excited that Kupp could land that contract and was interested to see how Kupp and fellow Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba would complement each other.
Comp update: Cooper Kupp and the Seahawks reached agreement on a three-year, $45 million deal, per source. https://t.co/KraJBbHHJ3
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 14, 2025
Check out the full video or podcast below. And make sure to tune into the Ross Tucker Podcast on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Brian Thomas Jr. Interview + Ja’Marr Chase & Tee Higgins extend with the Bengals
Ross is joined by Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. to discuss his new head coach, Liam Coen, what he’s up to this off-season, the 2024 season, and much more!
Afterward, Ross reacts to all of the big signings from over the weekend, including the massive deals handed out to both Tee Higgins & Ja’Marr Chase by the Cincinnati Bengals.
VIDEO:
Check out the Ross Tucker YouTube page for more and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show on X at @rosstuckerpod and Ross at @rosstuckernfl.
