Bengals coach Zac Taylor doesn’t have any answers for Ja’Marr Chase, who continued to sit out of practice Monday as he seeks a long-term extension. The season starts Sunday, and Taylor sounds as if doesn’t know whether he will have his star receiver.
“We’ll just take it day to day,” Taylor said Monday, via Emily Sanderson of WLWT.
Chase’s availability for the Week 1 game against the Patriots is in doubt after he showed up for practice dressed in street clothes, watching from the sideline as he continues to hold in. If Chase does play, the question then becomes: How many snaps will he play?
Even Taylor doesn’t know.
“It’s impossible for me to say with 100 percent conviction, but I feel good about the shape that he’s in,” Taylor said.
Chase wants to become the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback, a title that currently belongs to Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson signed a four-year, $140 million extension with $100 million guaranteed.
He is scheduled to make only $1.055 million in base salary this season, and the Bengals have exercised the $21.816 million fifth-year option on his contract for next season.
Chase briefly returned to the practice field Aug. 26-27 on a limited basis following the Bengals’ third preseason game. That gave Taylor confidence that Chase would play Week 1. Chase, though, has not practiced since then.
Chase has 268 catches for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns in his three seasons.