Cincinnati Bengals coaches came under fire last week for getting Chase Brown back off injured reserve, then not giving him a single touch during a loss.
The topic of playing the rookie running back more is something that came up again with head coach Zac Taylor before the Monday night game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“He’s a guy we continue to talk about,” Taylor said, according to Mike Petraglia of CLNS Media. “Now we have to find a way to get guys like Chase (Brown) involved. … we see how it plays out over the next couple of weeks…. we’re trying to win games, No. 1.”
Reading between the lines a bit, it’s clear there are still some new-player things the coaches want to iron out because they conflict with giving the offense the best possible chance to help win games.
Meaning, most likely, pass-blocking at the pro level. As of now, Joe Mixon and Trayveon Williams are likely more poised in this area, as they should be.
So, the Bengals have to balance that want to keep competing while technically not eliminated from the playoffs vs. getting the explosive Brown some developmental reps.
Overall, it would appear to mean Brown won’t get a big workload in the immediate future.
