CINCINNATI – For whatever reasons, the Bengals are going through a weird stretch of pessimism surrounding their 2022 outlook.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is the latest to serve up a helping of pessimism. Now, in his defense, it's not from his own account. Regardless per Fowler's most recent report, there isn't much optimism surrounding the future relationship of the Bengals and Jessie Bates III:

Expect Bates to stay away from the Bengals for an extended period this offseason while bound to a franchise tag he has yet to sign.

This is one where I don't sense much optimism. There has been no tangible progress on a deal, and it's uncertain how close to the top of the market Cincinnati is willing to get. I can confirm the USA Today report that Bates does not intend to play on the tag, and when I asked a source involved what will happen if no deal is reached by July 15, the source said things will get "interesting."

Whether Bates would be willing to miss games is still unclear. But the threat for this to snowball is certainly there…. 

It seems like anything is possible here, including a lengthy holdout.

This is obviously not good news, but the Bengals won't be out of options if Bates does in fact sit out and miss games. They recently drafted Dax Hill in the first round and he is certainly capable of coming in and replacing Bates. He may not immediately rise to the levels of play we've seen from Bates over the years, but he should be a more-than-adequate replacement that can hold his own.

There is good news for the Bengals when it comes to the circumstances surrounding a potential holdout: Players that have yet to receive their second contract (or franchise tag) have almost zero leverage.

They don't have the career earnings to miss out on the upcoming salary. Nor do they have the career earnings to make up the fines that come with missing training camp. The NFL can a fine a fifth-year player up to $50,000 per missed training camp practice, which can approach over $1 million in fines. Teams can't take back the fines once they're handed out, either.

Bates has made just north of $6.8 million during his four years in the NFL. Would it really be worth losing nearly $1 million of that and a $12.9 million 2022 salary just to prove a point? He's not like a Stefon Diggs, who had $19 million in his pocket after his fourth year in the league, for example.

He would also lose an accrued year, based off the NFL's new policy of reporting to training camp and the failure to perform contractual services. While that's not such a huge deal for a vested veteran such as Bates, it does have a small effect down the line.

If Bates does end up signing the tag, these reasons will likely be why.

Regardless, it would be nice to see the Bengals work something out with one of their team captains from 2021. Having Bates around is a big key in the Bengals getting back to the Super Bowl. Losing him would certainly affect that goal in a negative way.

But as we all know, business is cutthroat in the NFL. The players need to look out for themselves, at the end of the day, which is the ultimate paradox when including the wonderfully ironic juxtaposition provided by football's mantra of "the ultimate team sport".

You can check out Fowler's full column, here.

Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK