Taylor: Bengals' ailing WR Chase not going on IR

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase volition not beryllium placed connected injured reserve, manager Zac Taylor said Saturday.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Chase is expected to miss betwixt four-to-six weeks with a hep injury.

Taylor's comments connected Saturday permission the model unfastened for Chase to instrumentality astatine the opening of that timetable. The fourth-year manager said the timing, which includes the team's Week 10 bye, went into the determination not to spot Chase connected injured reserve this week.

"The wide prognosis of however it could play retired factors into that," Taylor said.

Following the team's Week 6 triumph implicit the New Orleans Saints, Chase was listed with a hep wounded passim the week astatine practice. In the team's Week 7 triumph against the Atlanta Falcons, Chase slowed astatine the extremity of a way and walked to the locker country successful the closing minutes of the archetypal half. Chase finished the crippled and downplayed the contented aft the game.

"I'm bully though," Chase said.

However, sources told Schefter that Chase visited an orthopedist connected Wednesday, an further non-practice time for the Bengals with the squad playing the Cleveland Browns connected "Monday Night Football" alternatively of the accepted Sunday game.

Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd said helium has been successful interaction with Chase passim the week.

"It's not ace devastating," Boyd said of Chase's injury. "He got a nagging injury. He'll beryllium back, though."

In 2021, the Bengals drafted Chase with the 5th wide pick. He acceptable the franchise grounds for astir receiving yards successful a azygous play and was named the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year. Through the archetypal 7 weeks of this season, Chase ranked sixth successful the NFL successful full receiving yards (605).

Chase, Boyd and Tee Higgins correspond the team's lone radical of 3 wide receivers to each person 400 oregon much receiving yards done the archetypal 7 weeks of the season.

Boyd, a seventh-year receiver who posted a career-high 155 yards successful past week's triumph implicit the Falcons, said that the play process has been the aforesaid with Chase retired and determination isn't immoderate added unit to lend successful Chase's absence.

"I consciousness similar maine and Tee are going to proceed to person that production," Boyd said. "We travel successful each day, each week, careless of who's successful and who's out, due to the fact that we got a occupation we got to bash astatine the extremity of the day. And we're inactive going to get our targets and we inactive person to hole for a mode to triumph our matchups."

Throughout the season, defenses person made it a constituent to displacement its sum to halt Chase. But adjacent with Chase out, Boyd doesn't expect those looks changing.

"We inactive person bully matchups if they privation to spell man," Boyd said. "Maybe they mightiness spell a small much [double] coverage, but we're inactive expecting the aforesaid things."

Along with Chase's absence, wide receiver Stanley Morgan volition miss his 2nd consecutive crippled with a hamstring issue. That leaves 4 steadfast wide receivers connected the progressive roster. Trenton Irwin, who has been connected the team's signifier squad since 2019, was referenced by Taylor connected Saturday arsenic a imaginable call-up option.

Taylor said whether it's the starters specified arsenic Boyd oregon Higgins oregon the different reserves, players volition person to measurement up successful Chase's absence. Taylor said the familiarity with the strategy and the continuity with the receiving radical should payment the Bengals arsenic they look to drawback a four-game losing streak to the Browns (2-5).

"Those guys each person a relation to play," Taylor said.