Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase appears to be running out of patience with the Cincinnati Bengals, and understandably so.
After a 2-0 start, the Joe Burrow-less Bengals have suffered humiliating back-to-back blowout losses on the road. One week after losing 48-10 to the Minnesota Vikings, the Bengals were punchless in a 28-3 blowout loss against the Denver Broncos on “Monday Night Football.”
Lining up against Patrick Surtain II for much of the game, Ja’Marr Chase was a non-factor with only five catches for 23 yards. And ultimately, Chase couldn’t hide his frustrations any longer.
ESPN’s cameras caught a frustrated Chase exchanging words with head coach Zac Taylor in a tense scene on the sidelines in the third quarter:
“Urgency is there, man, it’s just you gotta want it,” Chase told reporters after the game, per ESPN’s Ben Baby. “At the end of the day, we gotta want it. Today, it didn’t look like we wanted it.”
The Bengals’ Super Bowl hopes essentially ended when Joe Burrow suffered turf toe in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He’ll miss at least three months of action, but there’s a real possibility that Burrow won’t return this season.
Bengals Need To Get A QB For Ja’Marr Chase
Joe Burrow may be sidelined, but this doesn’t mean the Bengals should punt on the season. They still finished 9-8 two years ago after Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist surgery, thanks mainly to the performances of Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson.
The Bengals are still 2-2 and very much in the playoff race, but they have to make a move at QB with Burrow out. New York Giants QB Russell Wilson should be available via trade after getting benched for rookie Jaxson Dart, and the Atlanta Falcons would probably be thrilled to find a taker for Kirk Cousins’ contract.
Chase and Higgins just signed long-term deals in the offseason and deserve better than this. Browning isn’t a long-term starter, and the Bengals owe it to their star players to make a move at QB to try and salvage the season.
