Taylor confirmed that Chase is healthy and explained after practice that he and the star receiver “have a plan” and are on the same page; however, it’s not often teams sit healthy players at the start of training camp.
Chase, now in his fourth year, is eligible for an extension and has been clear about his desires to be rewarded with a Justin Jefferson-like deal. He did not participate in any offseason workouts, except some installs during mandatory minicamp.
Bengals owner Mike Brown said Monday the team would “bend over backward” to get a deal done with Chase, but both sides are going to have their expectations and desires for what an extension would look like. Cincinnati has Chase locked up for 2025 after exercising his fifth-year option. He is set to make $1 million in base salary this season and $4.86 million overall.
Asked if Chase not practicing has to do with his contract, Taylor did not give a clear yes or no.
“It’s a plan Ja’Marr and I have,” Taylor said.
Although there appears to be a plan in place, Taylor didn’t share if Chase is expected to practice Friday. He simply said, “we’ll see tomorrow,” and didn’t go into any more detail when pressed further if next week would be a more realistic expectation.
“I don’t expect anything else other than the plan he and I have in place,” Taylor said.
Taylor also wouldn’t clarify if he expects Chase to participate in training camp at all.
“Like we said, this is part of the conversation I had with especially the receivers early in camp of limiting their time because it’s a lot of opportunity with the early install that Ja’Marr and Tee specifically have repped more times than you can count,” Taylor said. “So, now for some of these younger guys like Andrei (Iosivas) and Charlie (Jones) and Jermaine (Burton) and Shed (Jackson) and Kwamie (Lassiter) and Kendric (Pryor), all of those guys now they get all of these reps. It’s unbelievable for those guys. It’s going to help the depth of our team and the competition we’ve got at that third receiver spot.”
Tee Higgins was limited Thursday, as Taylor had said to expect when he spoke in a press conference Wednesday, but he had a helmet and could have jumped in at any time. Chase did not have a helmet near him either day. Trey Hendrickson also had a vet day off Thursday, and Joe Burrow won’t throw Friday.
It’s possible Chase is dictating the plan, but he declined requests for interviews Wednesday and Thursday, saying “not today.” He also declined interviews during minicamp but said he would talk at some point during training camp.
Taylor said he is comfortable with the plan, whatever that might be, and he’s confident Chase will be ready to go when the time comes because “he’s a freak.”
“He and I have talked every single day and we’re on the same page,” Taylor said. “… I’m comfortable with the plan I’ve got with all these veterans.”
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