Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is one of the NFL’s top points of speculation right now.
No wonder. Chase was a “hold-in” at training camp up until this past Tuesday, where he was suspiciously absent from the team’s proceedings for the first time all summer.
That opened the floodgates on speculation that went in both directions. Hopeful fans wondered if a long-term extension was coming together. Most everyone else wondered if the “hold-in” was about to become a “holdout.”
But ESPN’s Dan Graziano brought up a good point recently by merely comparing the situation to Justin Jefferson’s with the Minnesota Vikings: “He’s in the situation that Justin Jefferson was in this time, last year. Jefferson didn’t get his deal until this offseason.”
Graziano went on to say that Chase himself might benefit more if he waits another year, too.
“I think the Bengals feel that way to a certain extent,” Graziano said. “I think that’s the more likely scenario from their end, that they would rather talk about this next year. Truthfully, I don’t know why he wouldn’t either because the numbers are only going to go up.”
That’s where the biggest point of speculation comes into play. Chase had made it no secret at all that he wanted to wait until guys like Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb reset the market first. Jefferson already did, so does Chase want the deal right now?
Sure the numbers might be better if Chase waits, but locking in a guaranteed market-resetting deal on the chance he suffers an injury this upcoming season would make sense, too.
The reality? We still don’t know why Chase wasn’t around on Tuesday and yes, Zac Taylor answered the question a little differently than normal. One has to think, though, that if Chase or his reps were disgruntled with the lack of contract talks or how contract talks themselves are going, we would’ve seen something leaked to reporters by now.
