Ja'Marr Chase appears to have taken his holdout to a new level. The Bengals' talented receiver was absent from practice Tuesday and has been labeled as "day-to-day" by coach Zac Taylor.
Chase hasn't practiced since the Bengals started training camp, but he had been present as a spectator until Tuesday's practice. Taylor addressed -- albeit quickly and without much context -- where things currently stand with Chase.
"Ja'Marr, day-to-day," Taylor said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We'll take it one day at a time. I don't have any comment beyond that."
Chase's contract is the reason why he isn't practicing. He is entering the final year of his four-year, $30.819 million contract, and he would like to sign a contract extension before the start of the regular season. Cincinnati picked up his fifth-year option earlier this year, but based on Chase's current stance, it's clear he has no interest in playing under that, either.
Chase, who was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons in Cincinnati, is instead hoping to join the lengthy list of notable receivers who signed hefty new contracts this offseason. Those contacts have elevated the market value for Chase, which currently calls for him to make $30.5 million annually, according to Spotrac. If he plays under his current contract, Chase would make less than $10 million this season, so it's easy to see why he wants a new deal now.
When asked earlier this offseason about where things stand with Chase and a possible extension, Bengals owner Mike Brown said that the "reel has been cast."
"We are going to bend over backwards to make it happen," Brown said in a quote that briefly went viral. "I can't tell you when it's going to get done."
It appears, though, that Chase's patience is wearing thin as he and the Bengals are running out of time.
A old-school businessman, Brown has a policy of not handling contract situations once the regular season begins. That means that the Bengals have roughly three weeks to figure something out with Chase if he is going to get a new deal this summer.
While there's still hope for Chase, fellow Bengals wideout Tee Higgins has accepted the fact that he will be playing the 2024 season without a new deal. Higgins will instead play under the team's franchise tag. Chase, though, is making it clear that he doesn't plan on playing without a new deal, which should make the next several weeks in Cincinnati quite interesting.
