The Cincinnati Bengals have a couple practices under their belts now, and WR Ja’Marr Chase hasn’t participated in any. It just so happens that the fourth-year veteran is trying to negotiate a new contract, but is otherwise healthy.
When asked about whether Chase will practice today, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor offered, “We’ll see”. In other words, he is staging a hold-in without the team saying it. “It’s a plan that Ja’Marr and I have”, he claimed, or essentially, “let me know when you plan to practice”. Taylor added, “I don’t expect anything else other than the plan he and I have in place”, via the team’s website.
Just to be clear, Taylor also confirmed that Ja’Marr Chase is healthy, while claiming to be on the same page. In this case, being on the same page for the head coach means he knows his hands are tied. Chase is there and doing everything off the field, but he’s holding in for a new contract.
Interestingly, Taylor attempted to shroud the Chase situation in a broader “plan” for resting veterans to cover the hold-in. He noted that Tee Higgins practiced on Wednesday but not Thursday, and that Joe Burrow won’t throw today. But if you’re a healthy player, you don’t not practice the first two days of camp and then likely not the third day, either. If your coach doesn’t know if you’re practicing after missing two days, and you’re healthy, it’s a hold-in.
And here’s another fun bit: one reporters asked Taylor to confirm if the absence of Ja’Marr Chase was not related to his contract situation. He hesitated before saying, “It’s a plan that Ja’Marr and I have”. He also declined to comment on his expectations for Chase practicing last week.
This hold-in is walking like a duck, talking like a duck, and doing everything else like a duck. It’s enough to keep it away from Devlin Hodges. This is a duck, and it’s quacking. Ja’Marr Chase is holding in, and he knows what he wants. He just watched the Minnesota Vikings pay his college teammate Justin Jefferson $35 million per year.
Through three seasons, Chase has 268 receptions for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns. He is a perennial Pro Bowler and just 24 years old, no question that he is one of the top receivers in the league. The Bengals are already paying Burrow top-of-the-market quarterback money, and they know Chase is integral to their long-term plans.
The only quirk here is the fact that Chase still has two years on his contract, including the fifth-year option. While it’s the convention for first-round franchise quarterbacks to receive an extension after three years, non-quarterbacks must often wait until they are entering their final season. Even T.J. Watt, who held in, had to wait until Year 5 for his payday.
But Chase isn’t waiting until next year, and he isn’t going to practice until he gets his money. There was debate about whether he would even show up to mandatory minicamp. He did, and he is not at training camp, but don’t expect to see him until he has an extension. Or until the regular season begins, whichever comes first, after Bengals owner Mike Brown poured cold water on the idea of an extension this year.
