The stalemate between the Cincinnati Bengals and star wideout Ja’Marr Chase has finally been broken.
That would explain why a report over the weekend said the Bengals had ramped up efforts to get an extension done before Week 1.
And it would also explain why Chase very much remains in the Week 1 gameplan against the New England Patriots despite his lack of practice since training camp started.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported early this week on Scoop City that Chase remains in the gameplan against the Patriots.
That’s not much of a surprise, but it has to be nice for fans to hear. Chase doesn’t need all that long to get in gear alongside Joe Burrow given their reps together in the past across various levels of the sport.
And if Chase’s football shape were a concern, word would have leaked out from the Bengals or otherwise by now.
Compared to other leaguewide holdouts that have been messy, the situation with Chase has been mostly mild despite him likely wanting to be the highest-paid receiver in the NFL — despite two years remaining on his current contract.
Other than that hiccup where Zac Taylor suggested things were back to normal and Chase sent a message to the team by not practicing, there hasn’t seemed to be a major concern that Chase could miss the season opener.
