Ja’Marr Chase Still Holding Bengals Up Ahead Of Patriots Matchup

The Cincinnati Bengals have a few important questions that need to be answered before they take the field for a season-opening matchup with the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Is Tee Higgins healthy enough to play? Does Ja’Marr Chase even want to play?

Higgins missed practice Friday, just one day after popping up on the injury report with a nagging hamstring injury that has followed him throughout his career. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was noncommittal when asked about the 25-year-old’s availability for Sunday, saying, “We’ll see,” according to ESPN’s Ben Baby.

Chase’s situation is a tad more volatile than that.

Chase has been “holding in” throughout the summer, as he remains unsatisfied with his current contract. The Bengals were able to get him to return to practice ahead of their season opener, but the 24-year-old continued to showcase his leverage Friday — stating he was a “game-time decision” heading into Sunday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Patriots have been preparing as though Chase will be on the field, but given the fact he has only appeared in two limited practice sessions, it’s looking like a real possibility that the Bengals will have to figure things out without at least one of their top wideouts.

Chase believes he’s “in reach” of a new deal with Cincinnati, but the clock is ticking.