Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said at the NFL Scouting Combine that he wanted Higgins and wanted to reward Chase as the highest-paid, non-quarterback in the NFL. He got both of those deals done in the end.

Trey Hendrickson remains with the Bengals, but another record-setting contract — for Myles Garrett — has affected the edge rusher market. With T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons in contract years, the cost of deploying an elite player on the edge is rising.