CINCINNATI – Time is dwindling on Ja’Marr Chase’s chances of signing a contract extension, and but the tick-tick-tick on the question of whether he’ll be practice has a resolution.
Chase was one of the last Cincinnati Bengals players to amble across Central Parkway and into the practice facility, wearing his No. 1 jersey while carrying his helmet and matching teammate and fellow wide receiver Tee Higgins stride for stride.
Just minutes earlier, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor refused to give any hints about Chase’s status for practice or Sunday’s season opener against the New England Patriots, answering the first three questions about his star receiver with curt “we’ll see” responses.
Ja’Marr Chase Returns to Cincinnati Bengals Practice
What everyone saw was a player who likely intends to play Sunday, although it doesn’t entirely rule out the possibility he doesn’t.
It simply could be a good-faith effort by Chase to return to practice in the event a deal is done if he senses things are getting closer.
Chase went through team stretches for the first time in a practice open to the media since the end of the 2023 season. Afterward, he was doing agility drills and catching soft tosses from wide receivers coach Troy Walters.
With Chase refusing to do anything during the voluntary offseason, mandatory minicamp, and the early part of training camp, there was optimism he could just be playing it too safe to avoid injury before getting a deal done.
Even with training camp coming to a close without a single Chase appearance, it still felt that way.
The conversation shifted when Chase participated in a pair of lighter practices closed to the media Aug. 25-26, and Taylor said he was confident Cincinnati’s top receiver would participate in the full practices last Wednesday and Thursday.
But either Taylor spoke out of turn, or Chase threw him under the bus when he not only refused to practice in those two sessions but showed up after they had begun.
Missing another practice today would have left Chase with just two more chances to get on the field with his teammates before Sunday’s opener — a full practice Thursday and a walk-through Friday.
Even if Chase is willing to suit up and play without a contract, there will be questions about his conditioning and how much of a snap load he can handle — not to mention concerns about the possibility of a soft-tissue injury.
“It’s impossible for me to say with 100% conviction,” Taylor said Monday when asked if felt Chase could play a full load Sunday. “But I feel good about the shape that he’s in.”
Asked about game-planning for the Patriots with uncertainty about Chase’s availability, first-year offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher didn’t sound concerned.
“I think we have a great degree of flexibility and fluidity about how we prepare,” he said. “We’ve been together as coaches and players for a long time, so there are things that come up from time to time that might make the schedule from one week to another different. We’ve dealt with those things before, so it really doesn’t concern us.”
There is no official deadline for Chase to sign an extension, but the Bengals have always considered the start of the regular season the zero hour.
They took their negotiations with Joe Burrow to within 65 hours of last year’s opener, announcing the deal just as the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions were kicking off the NFL season.
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In 2015, Cincinnati went deeper into the count, locking up A.J. Green about an hour before the team boarded the plane to Oakland for the season opener.
That situation was different because Green was heading into his fifth-year option, and it was the Bengals with their backs against the wall. The last thing they wanted was for Green to play out the season and have a chance to walk in free agency.
In this stare-down, Chase is the one pinned in the corner. He has two years left on his deal, and the Bengals can simply say, “This is our best offer. Take it or leave it.”
Would Chase be willing to miss games? Perhaps. However, that seems less likely with today’s development.
The wait for his return is over. But the clock continues to tick on a possible deal.
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