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Ja’Marr Chase sends message to Bengals by sitting out practice
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) arrives at practice late, and out of uniform during an indoor practice at the Paycor Stadium practice facility in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ja’Marr Chase sends message to Bengals by not suiting up for practice

It hadn’t even been 24 hours since Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters that he expected star receiver Ja’Marr Chase to play in the team’s season opener before Chase made him look foolish.

The 24-year-old wideout showed up to practice on Wednesday more than 10 minutes late and in street clothes, insinuating that he was sitting out practice again despite participating in the team’s last two practices after skipping all of training camp during his “hold-in.”

“I think I probably put my foot in my mouth and this is a day-to-day situation,” Taylor said of Chase’s decision after Wednesday’s practice, via Paul Dehner Jr of The Athletic.

“…Every day is a new day. We are working through it. I am not going to make any predictions to what tomorrow brings. At the end of the day, Ja’Marr is a great dude that means a lot to this team. We are going to continue to take it day to day.”

Chase is sending a message to the Bengals front office.

He’s seemingly not happy there’s been no traction regarding a contract extension, and with the regular season less than two weeks away, he seems to be putting pressure on the team to stop dragging its heels.

Chase has one more year left on his rookie deal, and he’s likely seeking to become one of the highest-paid WRs in the NFL. Spotrac currently projects his market value at $30.9M per year.

Other notable receivers who’ve signed new deals this offseason include Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (four years, $140M, $35M per year), Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136M, $34M per year), Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown (three years, $96M, $32M per year) and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (four years, $120M, $30M per year).

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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