Time Is Running Out For Bengals To Calm Their WR Room Chaos
Sam Greene/Imagn Images
As recently as one week ago today, the Bengals’ wide receiver room seemed fully ready to take the NFL by storm. Despite Ja’Marr Chase not practicing, Bengals fans, myself included, were in full belief that he would sign ahead of the Week 1 matchup with New England. Even if he didn’t sign, a disgruntled but still motivated and present Tee Higgins was ready to go and temporarily. take on the WR1 role in his place.
Now, it appears that both of those possibilities are at risk.
Bengals are listing Tee Higgins as doubtful for Sunday’s game vs. the Patriots due to his hamstring injury, and Ja’Marr Chase as questionable.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 6, 2024
The entire discussion surrounding the Bengals has been “Are they still cheap?” vs. “How badly do they want to make Ja’Marr Chase, their best wide receiver, happy?”.As of the writing of this on Friday, September 6th, the former of these two talking points is in the lead.
The contract, as expensive as it would be, would be an investment to calm the chaos that is currently the wide receiver room. Chase is still seemingly undecided as to whether he’ll play in Week 1 against New England. In addition, with Tee Higgins tweaking his hamstring, going out and playing through it would jeopardize his future contract, especially after having a down year in 2023. If both Chase and Higgins are out in Week 1, it would make the Bengals’ wide receiver corps go from one of the most talented in the NFL to arguably one of the weakest, even with Joe Burrow at quarterback.
Andrei Iosivas getting thrown into my WR1 slot if Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins don't play: pic.twitter.com/UNXIME4QJ7
— Sleeper (@SleeperHQ) September 6, 2024
Ja’Marr has made his demands very clear. He wants a bunch of guaranteed money. When asked if he thinks he’s the best wide receiver in the NFL, he said “I know for a fact I am”. When asked about the report that he wants a penny more than Justin Jefferson got on his extension, he dismissed that notion entirely by saying he wants to “beat the **** out of” Jefferson’s extension. Considering he’s spent the entirety of his NFL career trying to get out of Jefferson’s shadow, it’s entirely justified. Chase, whose rapport with Joe Burrow and healthy competition with Justin Jefferson go back to their days at LSU, is an immense talent who has the ability to be the best wide receiver in the NFL in any given week.
Friendly reminder that Ja'Marr Chase is such a talented receiver, a kid felt comfortable saying, directly to Tyreek Hill's face, that Chase is the receiver he looks up to the most pic.twitter.com/TvuYS8CZEq
— Alex Schubert (@alexschubes) September 4, 2024
Even though game day is two days away and no extension has been signed, one simple tweet from Adam Schefter could erase all of Cincinnati’s worries with Ja’Marr Chase in an instant. Chase himself says an agreement is within reach.
“A few numbers need to be switched around and changed places,” Chase said. “But I would say we are pretty close.”
Despite his contract demands and threats to sit out, Ja’Marr Chase has never once demanded a trade or said that his team doesn’t want him. He just has a desire to get paid more than his peers, the vast majority of which he outproduces, who have received massive paydays.
Chase’s contract extension drama has seemingly to allowed chaos with another one of their young wide receivers to fly almost completely under the radar.
For Jermaine Burton, a deeper knowledge of the Bengals playbook will help him find reps with the first team.
"That's why he's not getting on the field with Joe right now. You've got to be able to earn his trust."
– @JamesRapien pic.twitter.com/KmRcTJbpki
— Enter the Jungle Show (@CinBengalsTalk) August 31, 2024
Jermaine Burton is a big play receiver with all the potential in the world. He showcased it with a strong statistical preseason, as he was the highest graded wide receiver in the preseason according to PFF (86.1 overall grade). He had the ability to be the next best receiver in a stacked 2024 draft class after Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze. However, the Bengals are finding out very quickly that Burton’s maturity concerns, which caused him to fall to the third round in the draft, had merit.
“The bottom line is he can’t be running the wrong route as often as occurred in practice and preseason games (even on plays he made),” Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic wrote. “The Bengals won’t put him out there — or even make him active on gameday — until they feel comfortable he’s preparing in meetings, will be in the right spots and can be trusted by the quarterback.”
The Bengals’ locker room culture is strong enough that Burton can mature as a human being and blossom into a quality NFL talent instead of a “What Could Have Been” story. Joe Burrow seconded this notion by both acknowledging his developing maturity and recognizing his sky high potential.
“He made some really good plays there at the end,” Burrow told reporters after the Bengals’ first preseason game. “He just needs to keep working hard, getting in his playbook, and continue to build and grow as a player and as a person. His future is bright, and he just needs to keep working hard.”
The Bengals’ wide receiver room has the ability to be the most unstoppable in the NFL that can very easily lead them back to their status as an elite offense. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have the potential to be a duo reminiscent of Montana/Rice, who won back to back Super Bowls at their peak. Jermaine Burton has the ability to make a massive play at any moment; all he needs to do to be a regular contributor is to grow as a person. Even if Tee Higgins leaves after this year, the all-around underrated talent in Andrei Iosivas, the lightning quick secret weapon in Charlie Jones, the reliable Trenton Irwin, and perhaps a high draft pick in 2025 can pick up the slack.
The clock is ticking. In the current moment with Chase’s contract dispute, Higgins’ injury, and Burton’s current lack of professionalism, the identity of their passing game has yet to be solidified. The potential is through the roof, but there’s a very real possibility of everything falling apart at the top 3 spots on the depth chart until Chase is settled. The organization must calm the chaos before the opening kickoff against New England. Not to mention, after the Patriots leave, a rematch with the mighty Kansas City Chiefs looms in Week 2.
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