We are well into the second half of the 2022 NFL season. Daily practice reports are becoming longer and longer as injury updates pour in. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase hasn’t played since Week 7 due to a hip injury.
What is the latest on Chase’s hip, and should fantasy football managers prepare to get this mega talent back in lineups in Week 13?
Ja’Marr Chase Injury Update
We haven’t had the pleasure of watching Chase play football since Week 7. All he did that week was post his best game of the season, with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
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Unfortunately, Chase sustained what we later learned was a hairline hip fracture. The Bengals elected to not place Chase on IR, holding out hope he would return within four weeks. Obviously, Chase has missed more than four weeks, but we can understand the sentiment behind wanting to give their best player a chance to return as soon as possible.
Will Ja’Marr Chase Play This Sunday?
By midseason, Wednesday practice reports are largely meaningless… in most instances. If you see a previously healthy player not practicing on a Wednesday, there’s really no reason for concern unless he misses practice on Thursday. However, when it comes to players that missed the previous week, Wednesday is actually quite telling.
The first time we heard anything about Chase having a realistic chance to return was last week. Chase did return to a limited practice last Wednesday. In fact, he practiced all week in a limited capacity but was ultimately ruled out on Friday.
According to Ben Baby, Chase said he wasn’t going to give any media interviews until he was ready to play again. On Wednesday, Chase gave his first press conference since his injury. He revealed that he could’ve played last week, but it was his call to hold himself out — a very mature decision from a very young player who is already proving he sees the big picture.
The good news is Chase said he feels pain-free. It sure sounds like he will be ready to go this Sunday against the Chiefs.
Typically, players returning from injury will at least get in a limited session on a Wednesday before ramping things up over the remainder of the week.
Chase was limited at Wednesday’s practice and indicated we should expect him to remain limited throughout the week. Of course, we’d love to see Chase get in a full practice on Friday. However, three limited sessions in back-to-back weeks is far from a negative, especially in light of Chase’s comments.
Chase’s return will relegate Tyler Boyd back to the WR3 role. That doesn’t really matter for fantasy managers, as Boyd has been even less effective without Chase than he was while Chase was healthy.
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In theory, this could have a negative impact on interim alpha WR1 Tee Higgins. But the reality is the Bengals just have an embarrassment of riches with their top two wide receivers. Higgins should be just fine with Chase back in the picture.
It goes without saying that Chase can be confidently returned to fantasy lineups if he does indeed get back on the field this week, and he’ll be a name to watch once again on Underdog Fantasy games.
Be sure to monitor practice reports throughout the week by checking back to this article, which will be updated as more news comes in. As long as Chase avoids a setback at practice, I am confident he will make his long-awaited return this Sunday.