With Week 1 approaching, it seemed as if the Bengals had mended fences with Ja'Marr Chase on Tuesday, with coach Zac Taylor going so far as telling reporters he expected the star wideout to fully participate in practice this week.
Then, Wednesday arrived. Chase showed up late to practice, and instead of participating, he was wearing street clothes, throwing what appeared to be a resolved matter back into uncertainty.
Taylor addressed the situation after practice, admitting, "I probably put my foot in my mouth speaking too quickly" on Tuesday.
Perhaps he just spoke too ambitiously. Either way, Chase was not participating in practice Wednesday, and is considered to be day to day, according to Taylor.
What might tomorrow bring? Nobody knows.
"I think every day is a new day. We'll keep working through it," Taylor said. "I am not going to make any predictions to what tomorrow brings. At the end of the day, Ja'Marr is a great dude that means a lot to this team, and we'll just continue to take it day to day."
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Chase, who had been practicing, was in continued talks with the Bengals about potentially making him the highest-paid WR in the league.
Chase is undoubtedly an essential part of the Bengals' operation, which is a key reason why Cincinnati is tolerating his intermittent hold-in. Simply, most players don't get this much leeway.
Chase will, though, even if he isn't hurt. It will be up to Taylor to keep it from affecting the rest of the team.
"It's not," Taylor said when asked if the matter was a distraction. "It's a one-off situation that I have got to deal with and, again, we'll just continue to take it day to day."
Chase's hold-in is centered on an upcoming pay day, which Cincinnati doesn't necessarily have to deliver until the end of next season as he has two years left on his rookie deal, which includes having his fifth-year option picked up. The Bengals would be wise, of course, to get it done sooner, and Chase is simply playing a game of leverage while protecting his greatest asset: his health.
The unreliable nature of his participation does complicate matters, at least from an outside perspective. There's no telling how it's affecting Chase's teammates, who might not even notice much, if at all.
Taylor, though, will have to answer for Chase each time something like this occurs -- or until the tug of war subsides when the regular season truly begins.
"This is all part of that plan that we've talked about, you know, so this is just the later stages of this plan," Taylor said. "But I think it's wise for me to say we'll take it day to day and see what tomorrow brings."
As much as Taylor has attempted to present a united front on the matter, Chase unraveled that Wednesday. We'll see if Taylor adjusts his statements moving forward, or if this is all just a bunch of preseason hullaballoo.
