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Ja'Marr Chase remains the last big holdout of the 2024 preseason. With the Bengals wide receiver back to holding in, he appears to be teasing missed time in the regular season.
Speaking about the situation on the August 29 edition of Pro Football Talk, NFL analyst Mike Florio braced for the Bengals to lose their patience with the receiver.
Mike Florio at 2:33: "At some point, you got to suit up and play. You got to go, 'Come on, clock's ticking. We had our fun. We tried to work it out, you didn't expose yourself to injury during training camp or the preseason'," the analyst said.
"But now, it's time to go earn your money. We're not just gonna let you voluntarily not play and the hammer that the team has is the ability to punish the guy at some point, it's conduct detrimental to team. You're here, it's time to practice," he said.
Of course, while he has seen the field at times this summer, Chase could be stumbling into the same situation as CeeDee Lamb or worse.
Questions abound as to how ready the Cowboys wide receiver will be for the regular season after missing the preseason. That said, Lamb is available for Week 1 while Ja'Marr Chase's availability is up in the air.
Bengals face two-headed salary quandary with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins
The Bengals have put themselves in a difficult predicament on offense this offseason. They have elected to play hardball with Ja'Marr Chase and have also refused to hand a big extension to Tee Higgins. With Chase questionable for Week 1, there is a chance that Tee Higgins could slide into the top receiving role.
However, Higgins is playing on a one-year franchise tag, so the Bengals logically are forced to hope that Higgins doesn't hold out as well.
If so, Joe Burrow would be down to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for Week 1. Joe Mixon exited the team this offseason, so at best, Burrow will have Chase and Higgins. However, missing one's top two receivers and top rusher is logically not the best way to build a winning team.
Will Joe Burrow have his full roster available to him for his Week 1 showdown against the New England Patriots?
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Pro Football Talk" and H/T Sportskeeda.
