With the Bengals’ season opener looming Sunday, star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase didn’t practice Monday and is listed as day-to-day, according to Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor.
During the portion of practice open to the media, Chase was seen shagging balls during a drill with assistant coaches while also standing with his fellow receivers while they stretched.
“There are always injuries and things you have to deal with, so we’ll adapt to him,” Taylor said.
Taylor wouldn’t say how much the three-time Pro Bowl selection could play Sunday against the visiting New England Patriots.
“It’s impossible for me to say with 100 percent conviction, but I feel good about the shape that he’s in,” the sixth-year coach said.
Chase, 24, is seeking a contract extension along the lines of his former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson, who reset the market with a four-year, $140 million contract ($35 million per season) that eclipsed the $32 million per year Eagles wideout A.J. Brown receives.
Amon-Ra St. Brown signed a four-year deal worth $30.002 million per year with the Lions, and the Cowboys finally paid CeeDee Lamb’s asking price — four years, $136 million with $100 million guaranteed — last week to bring his offseason holdout to a close.
Chase caught 100 passes for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He’s scheduled to play on the final year of his four-year rookie contract — at a base salary of $1.055 million — and has a fifth-year team option worth $21.8 million for 2025.
Teammate Tee Higgins is playing out the franchise tender on his deal after the Bengals allowed his contract to expire, then tagged him in March.
The No. 5 pick in the 2021 draft, Chase has 268 catches for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns in 45 games with Cincinnati.