Ja’Marr Chase participates in Bengals’ practice, ‘ready to go’ after hold-in

Ja’Marr Chase is apparently letting go of his hold-in with the 2024 regular season about to kick off. 

The Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver suited up Wednesday for the team’s first official practice of the regular season. Furthermore, Joe Burrow declared that the receiver is “ready to go” following Wednesday’s practice.

“I saw him out there today, he looks fast, strong, like he always does,” the quarterback told reporters. “He’s been doing what he needs to do to stay ready if he needs to be ready. I’m confident that if he does go out there on Sunday, he’ll be the Ja’Marr that we all know.”

Chase’s appearance at practice was a surprise as Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said moments before that he was uncertain if his star wide receiver would participate on Wednesday or even play in Week 1 against the New England Patriots.

“We’ll see,” Taylor told reporters when asked about Chase’s status for this week. 

Chase, who is seeking an extension, has not partaken in the team’s past few practices and has been involved intermittently since the start of training camp. Taylor told reporters last week that the Bengals were expecting Chase to be a full participant in practice moving forward, but that hasn’t been the case. The receiver was late to last Wednesday’s practice and didn’t participate with the rest of the team during workouts. A similar situation occurred at Monday’s practice, with Chase arriving in street clothes before helping out with receivers during drills. 

Following Chase’s decision to not practice last week, Taylor said that he “probably put my foot in my mouth speaking too quickly” when speaking about the receiver’s status. He’s also reiterated since then that the team is taking the situation “day-by-day.”

It’s unknown how much of a participant Chase was at Wednesday’s practice, though an official designation of his involvement will soon be provided because it’s a game week. 

Chase is entering the fourth season of his rookie deal and is under contract for the 2025 season after the Bengals picked up his fifth-year option earlier in the offseason. The former No. 5 overall pick has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons and is now apparently looking to cash in on what’s been a record-setting offseason for receivers. His former LSU teammate, Justin Jefferson, received a four-year, $140 million deal to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. 

It’s believed that Chase is pushing for a similar pact. He came in at No. 4 in FOX Sports’ ranking of the top wideouts entering the 2024 season.

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