Friday is a big day for Ja’Marr Chase. The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver said it’s a deadline to reach a deal on a new extension — something he’s been chasing all offseason.
The good news is that Chase told reporters on Friday that the two sides are “close to an agreement” and that he is open to playing this season even if there is no extension “if it comes to that.”
“We’re a little off,” Chase said. “It’s doable, but we’ll see on game day. … A few numbers have to be flipped and moved around, but I’d say we’re pretty close.”
As for Sunday’s Week 1 game against the New England Patriots, Chase called it a “game-time decision,” while Bengals head coach Zac Taylor would only say “we’ll see” about the three-time Pro Bowler’s status. Chase added that if he were to play, he would likely be limited due to his lack of snaps in training camp as he awaits a new deal.
It was a midseason filled with paid wide receivers, with the likes of AJ Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles (three years, $96 million), CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys (four years, $136 million), Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers (four years, $120 million), Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions (four years, $120 million) and Chase’s LSU teammate Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings (four years, $140 million), to name a few, all benefiting from contract extensions.
(As for talk of Chase wanting a dime more than what Jefferson got, the Bengals wideout said, “If I’m going to beat Justin, I want to beat the crap out of Justin. Not for a dime, brother.”)
Chase has two years left on his rookie contract, as his fifth-year option was picked up, which will pay him $9.8 million this season and $21.8 million in 2025.
“It’s kind of a tough one,” Chase said of the length of the negotiations. “I mean, we’ve been doing this for the last six months, seven months of back and forth. It’s been a long process, you know. So, I mean, I’m sure they [the Bengals] know what I want.”
Chase has amassed 3,717 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns in his first three NFL seasons. In 2023, he caught a career-high 100 balls, which is tied for the second-most in a season in Bengals history. He is also one of only eight players in NFL history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons.
Chase said it was a “pretty frustrating” process, but he tried to keep his feelings out of the situation and not express them in the locker room.
“I will say the whole process has been stressful, but overall it’s a learning process for me and figuring out how to handle the situation,” Chase said. “Just keeping my feelings out of it, that’s all.”
As if the Bengals weren’t worried enough about their wide receiver situation for Week 1, with Chase’s status uncertain, Taylor said Tee Higgins pulled his hamstring on Thursday and didn’t practice on Friday.
As with Chase, Taylor responded, “We’ll see” regarding Higgins’ status for Sunday.
