More positive buzz on Bengals and Chase making progress on extension (UPDATE)

With Sunday’s opener almost here, will Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals get this past the finish line?

Update: We have another positive update on the Bengals’ pursuit of a new deal for Ja’Marr Chase.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Bengals have made significant offers to Chase that are “somewhat” in the neighborhood of what he wants. Rapoport said he wouldn’t describe a deal as close, but he did say there’s growing optimism and that there’s been enough progress to coax Chase into returning to practice, which he did Wednesday.

Here’s the full update.

For better or for worse, the contract updates will likely be over by Sunday. The real question is if a deal doesn’t get done, will Chase accept it and play out the season, or will he sit out of regular-season games?

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

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Just before the NFL kicked off their 2023 season, the Cincinnati Bengals announced they had extended quarterback Joe Burrow, making him one of the highest-paid players in the history of the sport. The announcement came just before the Kansas City Chiefs opened the season on Thursday Night Football.

Well, the Chiefs open the season against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, which is the day after tomorrow, and, according to some, there may be positive movement between the Bengals and superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

According to Albert Breer, the main thing that held up negotiations was CeeDee Lamb’s lack of an extension. Now that’s no longer an issue, and he could see that breaking the stalemate.

“What Lamb’s deal does then, because of the similarities we ran through above, is confirm that Jefferson’s contract is now the going rate for the super elite at the position rather than some sort of outlier contract to be dismissed,” he wrote. “It won’t help the Bengals save money on Chase, but it does crystallize what it’ll cost to sign him now and that it’ll probably be even more expensive to do in 2025.”

He further states that the Bengals obviously chose Chase over Tee Higgins, whom they offered the franchise tag, but no more. Now that Lamb’s deal is in the books, Chase could be close behind, because now the Bengals know exactly what the magic number is.

According to Ian Rapoport, the two sides have made some progress in recent days.

“The two sides are in talks for a deal though to make him among the highest-paid receivers in the NFL, or the highest-paid receiver, higher than Justin Jefferson,” he said. “There have been some talks, there has been some progress, but there’s for sure nothing done yet. So we’ll see what his status is.”

Jeremy Fowler echoed Rapoport’s sentiments, saying he believes the Bengals are working harder now to get a deal done.

“From what I’m hearing, the Bengals have intensified their efforts to try to get this done in recent days,” he said on SportsCenter. “They are hopeful to try to get him back on the practice field, because he’s been that hold in, on Monday, to get this going and get him under contract on a deal that would be well above $30 million per year on average.”

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini (via the Scoop City podcast) reports that the Bengals still have Chase in the game plan for Sunday’s matchup with New England, so the team is at least planning for him to play.

Finally, The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov also reports that the Bengals made progress over the weekend with Chase and bridged the gap, enough that Meirov said he’s more optimistic that a deal will get done than he was last week.

So, what would a Ja’Marr Chase extension look like?

NFL salary cap guru Andrew Perrota projected what Chase’s deal could look like if it does make him the highest-paid wide receiver in the world.

Now that Labor Day is over, the Bengals have just over 48 hours to get a deal in the books before the opening day kickoff. Not that Thursday night stops them from extending Chase before Sunday, but it’s just more time ticking away. There’s also the possibility that Chase decides he won’t play without a new contract, something neither he nor the team have denied is a possibility.

Considering that the Bengals want to get off to a fast start and that they face the Chiefs in Kansas City in Week 2, in a game that could have far-reaching playoff implications, they need Chase on the field. When he and Burrow are together, and both are at 100 percent, they’re among the most electric duos in the league. The Bengals know it, and Chase does, too, so it’s time for both sides to work something out.

Hopefully, the two sides will come together in the next couple of days and get this over the finish line before Sunday’s opener against the New England Patriots.