When the Cincinnati Bengals opted to take Ja'Marr Chase ahead of All-American left tackle Penei Sewell in the 2021 NFL Draft, it was a decision that was met with criticism from many analysts who believed that protecting Joe Burrow — who would be returning from a torn ACL — was the best possible move for Cincinnati to make. However, the Burrow to Chase connection that was born in Baton Rouge would soon prove to carry over to the NFL. Adding the 14 games that Chase and Burrow started together during the 2019 season at LSU to the 38 that they've since started together as teammates in Cincinnati, they've combined for 321 completions for 5,088 yards and 48 touchdowns. That's an average of just over 6 receptions, 98 yards and nearly 1 touchdown per game.
For very good reason, the Cincinnati Bengals, have thus far made it clear that their intention is to keep this partnership alive for as long as they possibly can. And with Joe Burrow already having signed the largest contract in NFL history, that means it's now all about inking Ja'Marr Chase to a deal that will likely make him one of the highest paid non-quarterbacks in the league. On Monday, Bengals owner/general manager Mike Brown publicly stated that keeping Chase was their number one priority.
“Mike Brown said they are going to ‘try hard' to keep Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Burrow playing together, reiterated that Joe and Ja'Marr are priority No. 1 and 2 for this team right now,” tweets Bengals beat reporter Kelsey Conway of USA Today. “‘Our intention is to keep Ja'Marr Chase.'”
Hearing Mike Brown make a statement like this one must be enough for Bengals fans to breathe a momentary sigh of relief, though it would be a surprise if Brown didn't say something like this at this juncture. Bengals fans are all too familiar with the stigma that their owner is reluctant to spend big money in order to keep talented teams together. I mean, there's a reason Tee Higgins will be playing on the franchise tag this year.
Hence, there hasn't been too much long-lasting success in the history of the Cincinnati Bengals since Mike Brown took over the team after his father's death in 1991. Even before the Mike Brown era, a pair of Super Bowl losses in the 80s was the extent to which the Bengals could celebrate success.
Can Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase return the Bengals to the top of the AFC North?
In the first four years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Burrow ended two seasons on the IR. It's surely not a coincidence that in each of those two seasons, the Bengals finished at the bottom of the AFC North. In the two seasons in which Burrow managed to avoid a season-ending injury, Cincinnati not only won the AFC North — it was the first time since 1981 and 1982 that the Bengals repeated as Division champs — they also made it to the AFC Championship Game each year, with a Super Bowl appearance to their name in 2021.
Joe Burrow's status for the 2024 season was given a little more clarity on Monday morning, when head coach Zac Taylor announced that Burrow, who is recovering from a season-ending wrist injury that required surgery, would be cleared for full contact as training camp begins in Cincinnati this week. And as long as both he and Ja'Marr Chase are in a similar situation health-wise come January, you have to imagine the Bengals will once again be in the hunt for their first Super Bowl victory.
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