Is Ja’Marr Chase sick and will he and the Bengals agree to a new deal?
The situation surrounding the Bengals’ star WR has become even more unclear, with the team now indicating that he’s not well amid contract negotiations.
There’s a curious situation developing in Cincinnati and while the answers to obvious questions have not been provided, what we do know is that the team’s star pass catcher is not feeling his best such that he likely won’t feature when Bengals open their season against the Pats.
What’s up with Ja’Marr Chase
If you caught our previous piece about the injury report for Week 1′s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots, there’s no doubt you would have seen that Ja’Marr Chase was listed as questionable, seemingly in need of rest. That announcement followed on from news earlier in the week which confirmed Chase’s return to practice after holding out for the entirety of training camp.
Indeed, as has been reported throughout the offseason, Chase has been in pursuit of a new contract with the franchise, though it should be said that the 24-year-old told the media on Friday that he would play for the Bengals this season without an extension even if an agreement could not be reached, before going on to indicate that he would be a ‘game-time decision.’
This brings us to the most recent development in the story which has seen the Bengals listing Chase as questionable for Sunday’s season opener due to illness. While that has in fact been confirmed by other reports it still serves to accentuate the feeling of uncertainty surrounding Chase’s future, something the franchise surely wants to avoid. To be clear, it would be in the Bengals’ best interest to secure Chase’s services as soon as possible.
Widely regarded as one of the best receivers in the NFL, Chase has been prolific since entering the league in 2021. In the 45 games that he has played so far, he’s caught 268 passes for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns. Where details are concerned, the Bengals have used the club option on his rookie deal, meaning he’s going nowhere until at least 2025, however, an extension would most definitely remove the possibility of the star unexpectedly leaving in the near future, which we imagine is what the Bengals and their fans would like to avoid.