Bengals rookie WR Ja'Marr Chase: NFL ball harder to catch, see than NCAA ball

Cincinnati Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase attempted to explain why he dropped so many passes during the preseason, but his reasoning sounds suspect.

The former LSU star says he's still adjusting to the change from the NCAA football to the NFL football. The NFL and NCAA don't use the exact specifications for their footballs. College footballs are typically smaller and have white stripes on either end, while NFL balls are larger have no stripes.

Chase says the difference in balls has factored in to his difficult adjustment to the NFL. 

"The ball is different because it is bigger," Chase said, according to Bengals.com. "It doesn't have the white stripes on the side so you can't see the ball coming from the tip point so you actually have to look for the strings on the ball at the top, which is hard to see because whole ball is brown and you have the six strings that are white. But for the most part, just have to get used to it and find out what I am comfortable with catching."

Chase's excuse is questionable, especially because every rookie receiver has to make the same adjustment. No other rookie has blamed the football for his dropped passes. 

The 21-year-old added that sitting out the 2020 season also didn't help him prepare for the NFL as he would've liked but reiterated there's a ball adjustment he needs to get used to. 

"I don't want to blame it on me sitting on my butt the whole year, but it probably had something to do with it, of course," Chase said. "There's a bigger ball adjustment, so I don't want to make excuses but I've just got to be a pro and make the catch."

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and quarterback Joe Burrow both said last month they weren't concerned with Chase's preseason drops.

"He's just going through some of the things rookies go through in training camp," Taylor said. 

If Chase plays well during the regular season, his preseason drops will definitely be forgotten. If he continues to struggle, fans will question Cincinnati's decision to select him fifth overall.