A day after Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said the plan is for Ja’Marr Chase to practice moving forward, the Bengals star receiver arrived in street clothes while his teammates continued to prepare for the start of the regular season.
Chase, a three-time Pro Bowler, had recently begun practicing after being a “hold-in” during training camp as he seeks a contract extension. The 2021 first-round pick is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is likely seeking an extension that would make him among the league’s highest-paid players at his position.
The image of Chase not practicing was surprising given what his head coach had said a day earlier.
“It’s been good to get him back in the mix the last couple of days,” Taylor said on Tuesday. “He’s looked great. Same Ja’Marr I’m used to. The plan will be to continue to practice with him.”
Clearly, something changed between Taylor’s comments Tuesday and the start of Wednesday’s practice. One could assume that there may have been a change regarding the status of Chase’s contract talks with the Bengals, who are running out of time to come to terms on a new deal before Week 1.
Bengals owner Mike Brown typically does not deal with contracts during the season, which means the team and Chase have less than two weeks to figure something out. It appears Chase is willing to continue to miss practice time as he awaits his new contract.
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Author: Bryan DeArdo
August 28, 2024 | 3:15 pm
