The Cincinnati Bengals have not yet ruled out wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase for Saturday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but given that he has a separated shoulder, it’s a safe assumption that he will not be playing.
Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan spoke about how the team will deal with Chase’s potential absence this week, saying that the team is used to missing key pieces by now.
“Don’t have much choice if he’s out and we’ve had played plenty of games without Ja’Marr,” Callahan said, via Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer. “We played plenty of games without Tee [Higgins], we’ve got plenty of other guys that have to fill in and that’s just the nature of the whole league right now.”
While Cincinnati may have played games without Chase in the past, it hasn’t done that this year, as the star wide out has participated in all 14 contests. Not only that, but it’s important to note that the Bengals are also sans starting quarterback Joe Burrow, so Chase’s absence looms that much larger.
But Callahan does not want to make excuses.
“I think you look around, there’s a lot of teams that are dealing with the same stuff and guys got to keep stepping up and raising their level of play and keep trying to find ways to win,” he said.
Chase has hauled in 93 receptions for 1,156 yards and seven touchdowns this season, so calling him a crucial component of Cincy’s offense would be an understatement.
The 23-year-old, who played his collegiate football at LSU, was selected by the Bengals with the fifth overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
He caught 81 passes for 1,455 yards and 13 scores during his rookie campaign. Last year, Chase was limited to just 12 games, but he still produced, snaring 87 balls for 1,046 yards while reaching the end zone nine times.
Ja’Marr Chase made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons.
The Bengals are 8-6 and currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the AFC playoff picture.
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