The past several days have been a rollercoaster for fans of the Cincinnati Bengals after a slurry of significant players found themselves on the injury report on Saturday morning. Chief among the list of worrisome players was superstar target man Tee Higgins who is listed as doubtful after he tweaked his hamstring in practice on Friday. Given the fact that Higgins was the only one of last seasons big three receivers that was expected to play on Sunday, this was pretty dire news for a team that needs talented quarterback Joe Burrow to get off to a hot start to the season.
Cincinnati Bengals Receive Good News Regarding Ja’Marr Chase
Chase is Back in Business
While the past few days have been about as chaotic as possible, a positive sign of stability was signaled on Saturday evening when a source inside the organization told reporters that the team is expecting wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase to play on Sunday against the New England Patriots. This is excellent news for the team after word broke of Higgins’ doubtful status on Saturday.
Chase’s presence on the field is significant for more than the obvious reasons: without him, the team would likely be required to rely on unproven products like experienced backup Trenton Irwin and second-year prospect Andrei Iosivas. Chase will provide Burrow with his favorite target as well as forcing the defense into a likely double team for the majority of the game, opening up the other half of the field to single coverage, and allowing relatively athletic role players to step up.
Chase has been in a bitter contract dispute with the front office up until now and has been threatening to holdout of the first game of the season. Considering that the star LSU product still has two years remaining on his contract, that was likely a bluff the entire time but regardless, it will be a huge benefit to the Cincinnati offense to have him available.
Chase had an illness added to his injury report on Saturday but it is likely that this is just another part of his contract negotiations. Previously this week, Chase was listed on the injury report for Cincinnati under the simple designation of ‘rest’. If the illness is legitimate, it could impact Chase’s performance on Sunday considering the former All-Pro receiver still hasn’t put in much practice time this preseason.
Cincinnati will match up with the New England Patriots on Sunday at 1 o’clock in the first week of the regular season. Chase specifically will lock up with impressive New England defensive back Christian Gonzalez after the Patriots first round pick from 2023 impressed many with a stellar season. Look for this to be a huge focus of the gameplan on Sunday.
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