A whole lot was made about comments from Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase recently when he discussed the injury to quarterback Joe Burrow.
During an interview there, Chase suggested he wouldn’t mind if Burrow sat out until Week 5 in order to make sure the sixth-ranked player in the NFL was ready to go for the rest of the season.
A bunch of unnecessary noise followed, to the point Chase had to hop on a recent show with Kay Adams and clarify his comments.
“I want Joe to be his healthiest when it’s time to play, when it’s time to matter,” Chase said. “I don’t want him out there false-stepping and not 100 percent…I never really told him stay out until Week 5. It was just me saying take as much time as you need. Same thing with me last year, I missed an extra game to make sure my hip was fully healed.”
So no, Chase never meant he wants Burrow to sit out until Week 5. His comments then and now stress he wants the quarterback to take as much time as necessary — he plans on the Bengals making another deep run and doesn’t want that jeopardized because Burrow pushes himself too far early in the season.
Luckily for Burrow and Chase, updates on the injury continue to make it sound like he should be on the field for Week 1.