The Bengals' week of preparation for Sunday's opener (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) against the Patriots at Paycor Stadium got a kick-start Wednesday when three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase landed on the injury report as limited after practicing for the first time in a week.
Chase took part in some 11-on-11 as quarterback Joe Burrow and a pair of his wide fellow receivers pronounced him ready to go.
"I saw him out there today. He looks fast and strong like he always does," Burrow said after practice. "I know he's been doing what he needs to do to stay ready if he needs to be ready. I'm confident that if he does go out there on Sunday, then he'll be the Ja'Marr we all know."
Chase's status for Sunday comes against the backdrop of negotiations for his contract extension, which still seem to be going. There's a sense in the locker room that if he plays, he'll be pretty much that guy.
"He's a special guy. A special receiver," said wide receiver Trenton Irwin, who would probably start at X if Chase doesn't. "I think he can go. The wear and tear of camp puts a little more on the body and sometimes you need a little more of that to be ready for a season. But I think he'll be fine. They'll moderate what they have to, and I think he'll be ready to play."
Andrei Iosivas, who figures to start in the slot no matter what, said Chase has enough command of the playbook and looks fit enough to be a major contributor Sunday if he plays.
"He's a guy who would play every snap until his legs came off," Iosivas said. "It looks like he never missed a step. He looked good. He's really locked into the meetings. He's been in the offense for a while. You never expect him not to know the plays."
The opener coincides with the Bengals unveiling a more multiple offense than the one featured in Burrow's previous four seasons. Chase's ability to play all three spots with devastating route-running and industrial-strength hands is at the centerpiece of it.
Ff he doesn't play or has limited snaps, the Bengals have many more options than they've had, starting with three sure-handed tight ends, a deep receiver room and backs-by-committee.
"Deepest since I've been here," said Irwin, the most senior receiver who has been here longer than all but four Bengals. "We made a lot of plays. Go down the list and we had five, six guys just making plays left and right in camp. It was fun to watch."
No one knows Chase like Burrow knows Chase. He knows what makes him tick, and in his sixth year throwing balls to him, he thinks the connection is going to be there in the opener if he's there.
"Our relationship hasn't changed. I'm not getting involved in his business, I'm going about mine and trying to get better every day and trying to get ready for Sunday," Burrow said. "I know he's doing what he needs to do to be ready to go if need be, I'm just doing what I've got to do."
Burrow says Wednesday hasn't been their most extensive work during the offseason and preseason. There have been other sessions.
"He's always been a team-first, win-first kind of guy. That's the kind of guy Ja'Marr is and you want to reward those guys," Burrow said.
No. 9 FEELING FINE
After the first full training camp of his pro career, Burrow said he's feeling the best he's felt going into an opener since his first one in 2020.
"That's exciting for me to be able to get these reps in training camp and I'm going to bank all of those and continue to get better throughout this time as opposed to just getting back to baseline," Burrow said.
The right wrist injury that wiped out the last seven games of last season surfaced on the injury report as a not-so-gentle reminder that no surgery is routine. He was listed as full, and he's been throwing briskly and well.
"I feel like I'm healthy. I feel like I'm physically strong and I'll be able to go out and do what I need to do," Burrow said. "Whenever you have those kinds of injuries it's a process throughout the season, just like with the knee. You're going to have some days where you feel good and some days where you don't, and you're going to get better throughout the season."
That opener in '20? That 16-13 loss to the Chargers at Paycor when his touchdown pass with seven seconds left to wide receiver A.J. Green was erased by a rarely called offensive pass interference?
"I played like (bleep). That's what I remember," Burow said.
And because of COVID, there was an attendance of zero?
"Yeah, that's true. There was nobody here. And I also played like (bleep)," Burrow said. "I played really well on that one (last) drive. That was an unfortunate flag because I would have felt a lot better about that game looking back. That would have been a fun first touchdown throwing a game-winner to A.J. Green. But life doesn't work out that way sometimes."
FRONT-BURNER
Burrow has talked this offseason about becoming forgotten when not playing. On Wednesday, he was asked about getting back on the front burner.
"Go out and play well. That's what the NFL is all about," Burrow said. "You play really well one week, and people think that you are the best. The next week you go out and put a stinker out and you are the worst. People have a short-term memory in this league. I think that's a good thing. That makes you go out and prove it every single week and that is what I am excited about."
JOEY B MULTIPLIED
Burrow agrees his offense is as multiple as it ever has been, thanks to tight ends Mike Gesicki and Erick All Jr., shotgun backs-by committee Zack Moss and Chase Brown and Chase, Iosivas, Irwin and Charlie Jones as slot/outside receivers.
"I think we have pieces that you can move around in a lot of different spots and put guys as a single receiver that you might not expect, put guys in the backfield you might not expect, put a couple different personnel packages on the field teams might not have seen from us before," Burrow said. "I think we'll be a lot more multiple in what we do.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
The Bengals' top two draft picks, right tackle Amarius Mims (pectoral) and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr., (thumb) were limited …
Burrow has taken note of another rookie, the fourth-rounder All, who has impressed the Bengals brass with his ability to run, catch and block.
"That's a guy that really gets better. That's what you really want to see from a young player," Burrow said. "He's got all the talent in the world, but he banks reps, he learns from his mistakes, can jump high, catch, run fast, those are all things you want to see from a young player. The thing I'm looking forward to and excited about is he wants to get better, he is eager to learn. He's gotten so much better throughout training camp because of that." …
Rookie running back Kendall Milton, who joined the Bengals practice squad last week as an undrafted free agent cut by the Eagles, is a nephew of former Bengals linebacker Kevin Hardy.
No surprise Milton comes with high character grades. Hardy, the brother of Milton's mom, was one of the big gets in the first season of head coach Marvin Lewis' regime in 2003 and spent his last two of nine NFL seasons in Cincinnati helping Lewis and other vets set the culture.
Hardy called Milton when he heard he was headed to town.
"He told me he loved Cincinnati," Milton said. "When he got to live here, he said you could just feel it walking down the street and seeing the fans and how much of an impact football has on the city and the state." …
