The contract impasse between the Cincinnati Bengals and Ja’Marr Chase took a turn on Thursday.
There, Chase was a non-participant in practice for the second day in a row after seemingly sending a message to the team. But a team leader in the locker room backed him publicly in a big way.
And there was also that matter of Brandon Aiyuk getting a huge extension with the San Francisco 49ers.
So what does it all mean? NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport gave his take on the situation.
“I was joking about him wanting one cent more than Justin Jefferson. But not really, really joking because I actually do think in some ways if that structure’s like that, would get it done,” Rapoport said. “The clock is ticking, the Bengals can get it done. My question is, if they don’t…what then?”
We’ve always maintained that Chase will end up near or right at Jefferson’s total contract when the dust settles on this whole matter. It’s a little trickier than anyone would have predicted, though, because it is happening a year earlier than anticipated.
Still, now that Jefferson, Aiyuk and CeeDee Lamb are out of the way, the two parties can really go back and forth on the numbers. There’s not a lot of time left before Week 1, but enough to get something done and have him practice full-go.
And if not, things would just revert to what most had already expected, with Chase and the Bengals instead doing an extension next summer.
From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: Will the #Bengals do for Ja'Marr Chase what the #49ers did for Brandon Aiyuk? pic.twitter.com/WtcNccrVB1
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2024
