Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor addressed the media Wednesday after three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase sat out of practice.
Chase is seeking a new contract and while he reported for training camp, he didn’t participate in practice for over a month. On Sunday, Chase returned to practice but it’s unclear to the amount or what capacity he participated in as it was a closed practice.
After returning to the practice fields, Taylor told the local media he was confident Chase will play in Cincinnati’s Week 1 season opener against the New England Patriots on Sept. 8 and will continue to practice.
So, when Chase arrived at practice 13 minutes after the start, not in uniform and didn’t participate, it was noteworthy. Now, Taylor says the Bengals are in a “day-to-day” situation with Chase.
“I think it’s wise for me just to say we’ll take it day-to-day and see what tomorrow brings,” Taylor said. “I think I probably put my foot in my mouth speaking too quickly, and again this is a day-to-day situation.’
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Taylor doubled down in saying he doesn’t expect the contract saga with Chase to become a distraction in the Bengals’ locker room.
“It’s a one-off situation that you’ve got to deal with and we’ll just continue to take it day-to-day,” he said.
Chase has two years left on his rookie deal with the Bengals. The sentiment heading into training camp was that Cincinnati wants to keep Chase long-term but the timing for a new deal to get done before this season might not be in play.
It’s worth noting that three wide receivers in Chase’s draft class were all paid by their teams this offseason. Jaylen Waddle, Amon-Ra St. Brown and DeVonta Smith all earned extensions by their respective teams. When Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson reset the market, the road map for what a new deal for Chase could look like became clear.
It became even more clear to the Bengals’ front office when Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was given a new contract on Aug. 26, the day before Chase sat out of practice again.
“I’m gonna be pleased if it gets done so we retain his rights out into the future,’ Brown said on July 22. “The earlier the better. But he’s a great player, and we know what he means to the team. He and his agent have an idea about that too. Then, what others get paid seems to impact what he wants to get paid. There are all kinds of issues that play into this. It’s not easy to resolve, but our intention is to keep Ja’Marr Chase.”
Chase made a statement in showing up to practice late and not participating a day after his coach publicly stated he’s confident he would play in Week 1 and continue to practice.
Where that leaves things between both sides now remains to be determined.
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