The Cincinnati Bengals signed wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and defensive end Joseph Ossai to four-year contracts on Wednesday.
Chase’s contract comes with a fifth-year option given he was a first-round pick (fifth overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft. Spotrac pegged the deal at $30.8 million with a signing bonus of nearly $19.8 million.
Ossai was selected in the third round by the Bengals, who have signed all 10 of their picks from the draft.
Chase, 21, spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at LSU before opting out of the 2020 campaign amid concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Playing with Joe Burrow in 2019, Chase caught 84 passes and set what then were Southeastern Conference records for receiving touchdowns (20) and receiving yards (1,780) in a season. Chase also led the nation in the latter two categories.
A consensus first-team All-American, Chase won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver.
In Cincinnati, he will be reunited with Burrow, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2020.
Ossai registered five sacks, 16 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in nine games at Texas in 2020.
Ossai’s numbers over three seasons in Austin included 165 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, two interceptions and five forced fumbles.
