Can Bengals Foot the Bill?
The Key for the week of March 10, 2025
Price Wars
For weeks now, the Bengals have been predicting, confidently, that they would make wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the highest paid non-quarterback in the league. Well now, that payday has just gotten more expensive. The Browns’ Myles Garrett, who declared he wanted a trade, decided over the weekend he’d stay in Cleveland with a four-year contract extension worth $40 million each year. If the Bengals keep their word, they’ll have to write a check for at least a dollar more than that.
Other NFL Moves
While the Bengals are re-signing tight end Mike Gesicki and bringing back running back Samaje Perine, other moves already are shaking up the league even before the official start of free agency on Wednesday. Sam Darnold parlayed his career year in Minnesota into a $100+ million deal with Seattle, the Jets find their quarterback in former Pittsburgh backup Justin Fields, and the Eagles sending Kenny Pickett, once thought to be the Steelers’ QB of the future, to the Browns as Cleveland tries to figure out what to do with Deshaun Watson. And free agency is just getting started.
Who Wants to be #1?
Apparently, no one in college basketball. Auburn had been there for eight weeks until back-to-back losses this past week dropped the Tigers to third, with Duke taking the top spot for the first time since November of 2021. Houston, the top seed in the Big 12 Tournament, is second this week, the Cougars’ highest ranking of the season. Auburn also is the top seed in the SEC Tournament, despite losses to Texas A&M and Alabama. Duke also will be top seed in the ACC Tournament, when they begin play in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Ben’s Best Bet
Losses these last couple of weeks have shaken up the favorites to take it all in the men’s and women’s tournaments. On the men’s side, Auburn remains the favorite according to BetMGM, but just by a slim margin over Duke, with Florida, Houston and Alabama right behind. On the women’s side, UCLA returned to the top spot in the AP top 25 after its win over USC for the Big Ten title. South Carolina knocked off previous #1 Texas to move to second in the poll. By the way, Texas and USC losing in their conference title games marked just the fourth time since 2000 that the top two teams in the poll lost on the same day. But don’t forget UConn, in third place garnering seven first place votes in the poll. BetMGM has South Carolina as the favorite, but again, just by the slimmest of margins ahead of UConn. Ben says don’t be surprised to see blue blood programs Duke and UConn to reclaim their positions as national champions.