Taylor: Chase (knee) will be limited this week

The Bengals will have their top two wide receivers on the field for what should be a high-scoring game against the Buccaneers. Higgins is a high-end WR2 with WR1 upside, playing alongside WR1 Ja’Marr Chase this weekend.

Chase’s participation actually exceeds expectations. Beginning the week with a limited session would have been unsurprising. The Bengals’ star wide receiver hyperextended his knee on August 25th, but he is now good to go. Treat Chase as an elite WR1, per usual.

Higgins has been dealing with a heel contusion recently, but the issue never seemed serious. He has still been able to practice in a limited capacity over the past week. He may ultimately be limited on the team’s first injury report of the season, but there’s almost no chance Higgins misses Week 1 versus the Bucs. He will be a boom/bust WR2 barring a setback.

He said the same about Tee Higgins, who is dealing with a heel issue. Chase suffered a serious-looking knee injury late in camp, briefly giving Bengals fans and fantasy managers nightmares of him missing extended time. He was ultimately fine and should be good to go for Week 1, even if his participation in practice is limited. Per usual, Chase is in the WR1-overall mix versus the Bengals this week.

Tee Higgins (heel contusion) was also spotted at practice after both players were said to be limited participants last week. The Bengals won’t release their first official injury report of the week until Wednesday, but it doesn’t sound like either Chase or Higgins is at risk of missing Week 1’s game against the Buccaneers. As usual, Chase profiles as a high-end fantasy WR1, while Higgins should be viewed more as a WR2 with WR1 upside in any given week.

Chase was not being tended to on the sideline but did appear to be stretching out his leg and told reporters later that it was ‘just a little hyperextension.’ He didn’t return to practice but wasn’t getting any other medical attention. This is probably just going to wind up being a footnote, but it did scare everybody for a few minutes.

As has been the case in each of the past three years, injuries took their toll on Higgins and turned what would have been a good season into a rather disappointing one. He missed two games with separate concussions. Joe Burrow also spent multiple months on injured reserve with a turf toe injury. His absence briefly tanked the offense, though Joe Flacco eventually saved the day for fantasy managers when he took over for Jake Browning. Higgins finished the year with 59 grabs and 846 yards. Neither of those numbers are particularly close to his best marks, but he did bring down a career-high 11 receiving touchdowns, five of which came from Flacco. Despite the modest year, Higgins is still one of the best No. 2 receivers in the NFL, and fantasy managers will keep him in the WR2 mix when early 2026 drafts come around.

Coming off a triple-crown season in 2024, expectations were sky-high for Chase, with most fantasy managers treating him as the 1.01 in drafts. His and the Bengals’ season, however, was quickly derailed by a turf toe injury to Joe Burrow. Chase totaled 10 catches for 73 yards in Jake Browning’s first two starts of the year. He got on track in Browning’s third start and then kept his foot on the gas after Joe Flacco took over under center. Chase put up his usual video game numbers with Flacco and eventually Burrow on the sticks in the second half of the season. From Week 6 onward, Chase amassed 93 catches for 1,038 yards and five scores. He did, however, miss one game late in the year after being hit with a one-game suspension for spitting on Steelers corner Jalen Ramsey in Week 11. It’s strange to call a 1,400-yard season a disappointment, but Chase could have posted another historic campaign had things gone to plan for Burrow and the team. Still, he has done nothing to dissuade fantasy managers from treating him as the WR1 overall for 2026.

It was a disappointing statline on an afternoon where Joe Burrow cleared 300 yards in three quarters, but Higgins at least didn’t stick finals-week managers with a zero. Held under 60 in each of his two appearances since returning from his latest concussion, Higgins is closing out the year on a quiet note. That probably won’t change for a Week 18 matchup with the Browns’ elite defense.

Musing during the week about the fact he had not scored since Week 7, Chase naturally responded with the 13th multi-score effort of his increasingly-illustrious career. No. 1 was a 13-yard YAC job on a first quarter quick out. No. 2 was an eight-yarder on a second quarter goal-line slant. Leading 30-7 midway through the third quarter and 37-7 before the frame was through, the Bengals then took the air out of the ball for the entire fourth quarter. Stacking up absurd stats as always, Chase is just three receptions away from his second straight 120-catch campaign. He should be rocking and rolling early against the Browns in Week 18.