The Bengals were lining up to see a frustrated Baker Mayfield in Week 1. Instead, Cincinnati now gets a different version of the Buccaneers quarterback - one who has just landed the extension he spent the offseason waiting for.
Late Tuesday evening, Mayfield signed the deal he expected all along, and the numbers put him squarely in the top tier of NFL quarterbacks. His new $55 million per year average ties him with Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, and Matt Stafford as the third-highest-paid QB behind Patrick Mahomes and, inexplicably, Dak Prescott.
That’s a big shift from the mood Mayfield had been carrying. Before the extension got done, he said he felt disrespected and said he wasn’t going to negotiate a new deal this season. Reports this offseason had indicated Tampa Bay wasn’t prepared to meet his $50 million per year asking price, so the Buccaneers’ move to jump all the way to $55 million after waiting all offseason clearly changed the picture.
There was every reason to think Mayfield would bring that frustration into the opener against Cincinnati. The setup pointed to a quarterback who would be especially motivated after not getting the contract he wanted, the kind of player who would show up with a giant chip on his shoulder and plenty to prove.
Now the Bengals have to prepare for a different challenge: a quarterback coming off a payday that makes him the highest-paid player in Buccaneers history. Whether this becomes the “upset it didn’t happen sooner” version or the “prove them right” version is still to be seen, but either way Cincinnati is getting a charged-up Mayfield.
That makes Week 1 a real early test for the Bengals’ revamped defense. Tampa Bay will be a good measuring stick for a unit that was reshaped after last season, and Cincinnati could make the new contract start off a little bumpy if that side of the ball shows up the way the team expects.
Last year, offenses around the league were eager to attack Cincinnati’s defense. That should be different now. With multiple major changes, Al Golden’s group is supposed to move from being the hunted to being the hunters.
The defense has heard enough about last season already. DJ Turner, now a new captain, said on the first day of training camp that the group is ready to move on from it.
In Other News...
Cashius Howell Is Suddenly At Center Of Bengals Defensive Hype
Cashius Howell has quickly become one of the most talked-about names around the Bengals defense, and it is easy to see why. Cincinnati used the draft to reshape its front, dealing away its first-round pick to the Giants for Dexter Lawrence before spending its second-round selection on the Texas A&M edge rusher, who arrived with plenty of momentum after being named the 2025 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American.
The early buzz has only gotten louder since then, with CBS Sports analyst John Breech going so far as to project Howell as the 2026 Defensive Rookie of the Year and the Bengals as a playoff team. For a defense looking for impact players who can change the conversation, Howell is already being treated like much more than a mid-round addition, even if the real answer about how fast he can tilt games in Cincinnati still has to play out. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Have An Unexpected New Injury Concern Before Week 1
Week 1 practice brought one of those early-season reminders that the Bengals depth will be tested before the games even count. DJ Turner II showed up on the injury report with a hamstring issue and was limited, while JaMarr Chase and Tee Higgins were both back to full participation as they continue working through their own recoveries. For a team trying to build rhythm right away, getting its top receivers on the field matters, but the attention shifted quickly to the new concern in the secondary.
Zac Taylor also spent time updating the status of several players while talking through the bigger picture of continuity and situational football as the season opener approaches. Those are the kinds of details that tend to matter more once the first kickoff arrives, especially for a Bengals team hoping to avoid any early disruption in a unit that needs all its pieces ready. For now, the key question is how much Turners hamstring affects the week ahead and whether it lingers past the initial practice report. [Read more 🡒]
Ja'Marr Chase Sent Bengals Fans An Encouraging Message Before Sunday
Ja'Marr Chases return to full participation in practice comes with a little extra reassurance for Bengals fans who watched him deal with a minor knee hyperextension last month. Entering the 2026 season, the star receiver said he feels fully healthy again, and he struck a confident tone about both his body and the energy around the team as preparations move toward opening weekend.
The timing of the schedule is one thing Chase clearly did not hide his opinion on, since he said he would rather not be dealing with 1 p.m. starts. But the bigger takeaway for Cincinnati is simpler: its top pass-catching threat sounds ready to go, and after a brief scare in the summer, that is the sort of update that matters most this time of year. [Read more 🡒]