Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase enters crucial week as regular season nears

CINCINNATI — Any movement in a stalemate is notable.

So when Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase stepped onto the field at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, it was significant. Amid the lack of a contract extension, Chase did not practice during training camp, which ended before the team’s preseason finale Thursday.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter said Chase was making a good-faith gesture by being on the field amid the negotiations, but it didn’t necessarily mean the two sides were any closer to a resolution.

The bigger questions remain about where things stand regarding Chase and his availability for the team’s season opener against the New England Patriots on Sept. 8 (1 p.m. ET, CBS). This week should provide some answers.

After light practices early in the week, Wednesday will be the first standard practice since Chase’s recent involvement. What he does and what he says will be crucial to gauging his status moving forward.

“His business is his business,” quarterback Joe Burrow said July 24 at the outset of training camp. “He’s out here encouraging guys, and I’m not entirely sure what his plan is at this point, but I know he’s with us 100 percent.”

“Plan” has been one of the buzzwords of Bengals training camp. At the early stages of Chase’s nonparticipation, it’s what coach Zac Taylor repeatedly referenced when asked about the receiver’s status. It got to the point that it drew chuckles in Taylor’s news conferences when it became the default answer to neutralize any perceived tension.

“My brother is killing me for my plan,” Taylor said July 29, referencing Press Taylor, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive coordinator. “He wants to know what plan.”

Dating back to the team’s mandatory minicamp, Chase seemed to be following some participation parameters. After not reporting for any voluntary workouts, he took part in the portion of the mandatory minicamp that resembled a team’s walkthrough. When that ended and the team shifted into a normal practice period, Chase sat out. During training camp, Chase participated in some walkthroughs.

And even though he wasn’t going through practice drills, he was always visible. That changed Aug. 13, when he was not spotted at the team’s final prep work in Cincinnati ahead of a joint practice and preseason game against the Chicago Bears.

After missing that day, Chase made the trip and has been at each practice since. But Taylor has declined to say whether it was an excused or unexcused absence. The tenor with which Taylor discussed Chase’s status also shifted.

“I’ve already said everything I’m going to say on that,” Taylor said Aug. 19.

If Chase practices Wednesday, it will further indicate he is willing to play Week 1 despite the lack of a contract extension. A source familiar with the negotiations told ESPN that as of Sunday, there was nothing new to report on the matter. In the past, Chase has expressed a desire to be paid at the top of the market.

The market made news Monday as Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb agreed to a four-year, $136 million deal. Lamb is now the second-highest-paid paid receiver in the NFL, with Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson topping the market at $35 million a season.

Since the end of last season, Chase hasn’t said much. He has declined all media requests since minicamp.

That’s what makes what he says and does this week so important as the Bengals prepare for a big season.

“Whenever he steps back out here,” Burrow said in July, “he’s going to be the Ja’Marr Chase that everybody knows that he is.”