Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase did not participate in practice Wednesday, just one day after head coach Zac Taylor told the media that Chase would be a full participant all week.
Chase was there on Wednesday, As imagined by ESPN’s Ben Baby, But he wasn’t practicing. He had participated in light practices on Monday and Tuesday, prompting Taylor to say Tuesday afternoon, “The plan will be to continue to practice with him.” It appears Taylor spoke too quickly.
Chase has essentially been “holding back” all offseason as he seeks to get paid more than the $1.1 million he’s scheduled to make in 2024 (though his salary will rise to more than $21 million in 2025 since the Bengals exercised his fifth-year option in April). And he’s employed various methods to communicate his desires. He’s been at training camp, but not as a participant. There have been times when he hasn’t been at the facility at all. He hasn’t appeared in any preseason games. He returned to practice earlier this week but is now back on the bench.
Chase has been a major part of the Bengals’ recent successes, a standout on the field catching passes from QB Joe Burrow and a reliable scorer in fantasy. He caught 100 passes in 2023 and has reached 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons.
Even though his retention makes things difficult on the field (he’s barely practiced in the past month) and in fantasy (where in the world do you draft a high-impact player who hasn’t been practicing?), he deserves to get paid and is doing what he needs to do to make sure the Bengals give him what he’s worth.
Taylor also said Tuesday that he expects Chase to play Week 1 against the New England Patriots. That appears to be the plan, though given how quickly things change at Bengals headquarters, who knows what the future holds.