The price for star cornerbacks keeps going up, as it appears the Bengals seem set to let their star CBs play out the final years of their contracts. Multiple reports Tuesday noted that the Patriots and Christian Gonzalez struck a historic deal to make the stopper the top-paid CB in the game.
“Just in: New England Patriots and Pro Bowl CB Christian Gonzalez have agreed to terms on a four-year, $135M extension with $102M guaranteed, per sources. Just in time for Week 1,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler posted on X.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer expanded on the historic impact.
“The deadline set by the season opener got it done,” Breer posted on X. “The NFL has a new highest-paid corner, as Christian Gonzalez becomes the fourth guy this offseason pushing that number forward—following Trent McDuffie ($31M APY), Denzel Ward ($31.1M APY) and Devon Witherspoon ($33M APY).”
Four guys in a row pushing up the top of the market, and ultimately any franchise tag number the Bengals would place on DJ Turner II or Dax Hill is a tough pill to swallow for a team that could have a bunch of contract headaches next year after having next to none this offseason.
Turner and Hill are set to hit the market pending a tag, along with an upcoming extension for right tackle Amarius Mims should he keep ascending. On top of that, the defensive tackle market is starting to pass Dexter Lawrence’s $28 million per year in a big way.
If he posts another Pro-Bowl-level season, he could justifiably make a fuss about getting extra money. Alas, these are issues for February and beyond, but Cincinnati once again doesn’t look like it’s going to get ahead of a rising market in this cornerback cycle.
The same thing happened with Jessie Bates III a few years ago, and they spent more resources than his contract required to replace him after years of horrific safety play.
Meanwhile, Turner just got named a captain and is focused on his 2026 performance.
“The film will speak for itself,” Turner said Monday. “Like, it (doesn’t) matter what I say right now. The film will speak for itself.”
Cincinnati is off today before returning to practice on Wednesday.
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