Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase playing status revealed amid contract extension drama

Ja’Marr Chase will play for the Cincinnati Bengals during Sunday’s season opener despite his ongoing illness and being unable to agree on a long-term contract with the team, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Chase was seen warming up ahead of the opening kickoff, calming questions of whether or not he’d play during Week 1. It seems that was a good sign for Bengals fans after all despite the two sides still working things out from a business perspective.

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Ahead of kickoff, ESPN’s Adam Schefter updated the status of the Bengals wide recevier ahead of their season opener against the New England Patriots.

“The Bengals and Ja’Marr Chase are not going to get a deal done before today’s opener,” Schefter said. “The contract that’s been an issue all summer long is not expected to get done in time for today’s game. Now, Ja’Marr Chase will have to decide whether he’s willing to play this season for $1 million in base salary, or whether he’s going to sit out in addition to the illness that he came down with yesterday that contributed to him being placed on the injury report.”

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Last season, Chase had a team-high 1,216 receiving yards on 100 catches with seven touchdowns. Tee Higgins, who played just 12 games, had 656 yards on 42 catches with five touchdowns. It was his first season with fewer than 900 receiving yards after posting two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022.

Back during the 2021 NFL Draft, Chase was the No. 5 overall draft pick by the Bengals. He earned that designation after a stellar career with the LSU Tigers.

In two seasons with the Tigers, Chase logged 107 catches for 2,093 yards and 23 touchdowns. His breakout campaign came in 2019, when LSU won the national title and he went for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The opening kickoff between the Bengals and Patriots is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and will air live on CBS.