Cincinnati Bengals Practice and Injury Report: What Is the Latest on Ja’Marr Chase?

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that Ja’Marr Chase is still sore and that if the wide receiver does anything in practice today, it will be on a limited basis.

Chase took two spills in Sunday night’s 24-18 win against the Buffalo Bills, in which he landed flat on his back, one in the first half and one in the second.

Will Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase Play on Sunday?

Chase finished the game but talked Monday about how sore he felt while indicating that his status for Sunday’s home game against the Houston Texans is in doubt.

He was not on the field for the start of practice today.

Zac says Ja’Marr will be limited if he does anything at all today. “He’s sore.”

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) November 8, 2023

Chase has a history of wanting to be all the way back to 100% before returning to the field. We saw it last year when he missed four games with a hip injury. He was cleared to play after his third absence but told the doctors and coaches he wanted to wait one more week.

The Bengals won all four games while Chase was out, and in his return to action in Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he caught seven passes on eight targets for 97 yards.

Chase voiced a similar opinion during training camp, telling Joe Burrow to take it slow with his recovery from a calf strain and just wait to come back in Week 5. Burrow did not take that advice, played in the opener, and re-aggravated the injury in Week 2.

If Chase can’t go Sunday, look for Trenton Irwin or rookie Andrei Iosivas to take the bulk of his snaps.

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Earlier today, the Bengals cleared rookie wide receiver and punt returner Charlie Jones for practice, opening a 21-day window for him to be elevated to the active roster. Taylor would not say whether he expects Jones to be active on Sunday.

Jones has missed the last five games after taking a helmet to his thumb in the Week 3 Monday night win against the Rams and having surgery a few days later.

Irwin has handled the punt-returning duties in Jones’ absence and has been solid, averaging 10.0 yards per return on nine attempts.

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