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One day removed from giving a pretty significant statement about the future of the Cincinnati Bengals' prized pass catcher, Ja'Marr Chase, Zac Taylor is garnering fire from fans online for effectively backtracking on his availability while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.
Discussing the prospects of Chase missing practice, which the sixth-year head coach said wouldn't be an issue moving forward mere hours earlier as the two sides seemingly reached a truce amid heated contractual negotiations, Taylor admitted his error to the assembled media, before noting that the team is taking the situation “day-to-day.”
“I said that yesterday?” Taylor joked. “I think every day is a new day. We'll keep working through it. I'm not going to make predictions on what tomorrow brings. At the end of the day, Ja'Marr is a great dude that brings a lot to this team, and we'll just continue taking it day-to-day.”
Asked if he still expects Chase to play in the opener, Taylor sidestepped the question, again noting that this is a delicate situation that the team is monitoring closely.
“This is all part of that plan that we've talked about, you know?” Taylor asked. “So this is just the later stages of that plan, but I think it's wise to say we're just going to take it day-by-day and see what tomorrow brings.”
So, considering how things have shaken out, is there anything Taylor has learned from the Chase situation?
“I think you learn enough to not let anything catch you off guard, you know?” Taylor asked. “And it's just, again, the smartest thing for us to do is to keep working through it, keep taking it day-to-day. Again, he's a huge member of our team, and I appreciate him and hope to get him back sometime soon.”
Now, for fans who have been keeping up with the Chase situation for the past few weeks, this reversal is pretty stunning when compared to the day before, as it looked like Taylor and company had figured out a way to make their All-World receiver happy despite his desire to earn one of the biggest contracts in NFL history. But why? Is it simply because Chase wants to be in the same tax bracket as CeeDee Lamb, who signed for a historic number with the Dallas Cowboys this week? Well, ESPN's Adam Schefter believes it comes down to one prevailing desire: to control the narrative.
Adam Schefter believes Ja'Marr Chase wants to change the narrative
Discussing the latest developments on the Chase hold in on ESPN NFL Live, Senior NFL Insider Schefter revealed that the Bengals WR most likely has a method behind his reversal, noting that after Taylor came out and made some major statements the day before, it was the All-Pro's turn to recapture some public negotiating power.
“Well, Laura, I think the negotiations between these two sides are slow going right now. And I think Zac Taylor was enthused about the fact that Ja'Marr Chase has been back participating in practice, but those have only been walk-through practices. When he's practiced, it's only been individual drills, not full-on practice,” Schefter explained.
“And this is a situation that has bared watching all training camp long and continues to bare watching, and you could tell today it was almost as if Ja'Marr Chase was looking to replace the narrative that Zac Taylor used yesterday. In fact, Zac Taylor yesterday was very confident and optimistic that Ja'Marr Chase would be practicing today and playing in Week 1, and Ja'Marr Chase almost made a statement of his own by showing up and not practicing today, as if to say this narrative is not going to be dictated entirely by the Cincinnati Bengals and clearly there is still an issue unless Ja'Marr Chase gets paid.”
As things presently stand, Chase is the 22nd-biggest cap hit of any receiver in the NFL, with a chance to see that number balloon up to $21.8 million in 2025 while playing on his fifth-year option. While that may seem like a lot of money, even Chase's 2025 number is vastly below his actual value, with Spotrac projecting his AAV to be something in the range of $30.9 million.
Does Chase deserve that sort of number, which would make him the fourth-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL sandwiched between Lamb and AJ Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles? No, frankly, he probably deserves to make more than Brown and could match or even overtake Lamb if his agent wants to get aggressive at the negotiation table. For better or worse, until Cincinnati meets him at the table with a market-rate contract offer, it's impossible to know when fans will see Chase on the field again, which may be good for his own pocket long-term but could be disastrous for both the Bengals and fantasy football players the world over.
"Clearly there still is an issue, unless Ja'Marr Chase gets paid."
—@AdamSchefter on Chase not practicing Wednesday 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZPti3bK7Bh
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 28, 2024
