Ja’Marr Chase’s separated shoulder has not officially ruled him out of the Cincinnati Bengals‘ Week 16 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he would not yet rule out Chase for their next game following reports that the 23-year-old had already been ruled out.
The wide receiver did not practice Tuesday and is considered “day-to-day.” The head coach added that it will depend on how things develop over the next few days.
“We’ll see how the week goes,” Taylor said.
The Bengals’ two-time Pro Bowl receiver sustained the injury late in this past Saturday’s overtime win over the Vikings. Chase currently has 34 more catches and more than twice as many receiving yards this season as the team’s second-leading receiver, Tyler Boyd.
Having Chase back on an offense that is already without star quarterback Joe Burrow would be big for the team, which is currently 8-6 and would be the No. 6 seed in the playoffs if the regular season ended today.
If Chase is unable to play, Cincinnati does have other weapons on offense that include fellow wideouts Boyd, Tee Higgins and tight end Tanner Hudson, who has come on strong over the Cincinnati’s three-game winning streak. The Bengals have also received a strong campaign so far from running back Joe Mixon, who has been complemented in the backfield by rookie Chase Brown.
The Bengals’ recent success also can be attributed to the play of backup quarterback Jake Browning, who has completed 73.6% of his passes since replacing injured Burrow in the starting lineup.
Cincinnati will face a Pittsburgh defense on Saturday that will be without All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is dealing with a knee injury. The Steelers’ secondary received another blow Monday when fellow safety Damontae Kazee was suspended for the remainder of the season by the NFL for repeated violations of rules designed to protect player safety.
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Author: Bryan DeArdo
December 19, 2023 | 5:45 pm
