Taylor: Chase and Higgins on pace to play Week 1

Chase was a full participant in each of the Bengals’ first two practices to start the week and is good to go for Week 1, according to head coach Zac Taylor. Chase can be trusted as a high-end WR1 for fantasy players in a matchup against the Buccaneers that should be ripe for fantasy points.

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.

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.

We’re not viewing this as a major cause for concern; the Bengals have no reason to rush Chase back on the field after he hyperextended his knee last week. If he’s still drawing limited tags on the official injury reports next week, then we can start Panic Mode. Taylor added that Higgins (heel contusion) may also be limited this week. "(Tee) and Ja’Marr will be good at the end of the week,” said Taylor.

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.

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.

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.

The 100-yard outing was the seventh of the season for the Bengals’ alpha. It came with Tee Higgins back in the lineup. Chase has had a few clunkers over the past month, but you can basically take 6/90 to the bank, while 8/120 is always realistic. That will include for Week 17 against the Cardinals, who are in the running for the worst defense going right now.

Chase saw a whopping 41 percent target share in this one, and was aided by a negative game script in the Bengals’ shutout loss. Chase played a role in Joe Burrow’s first interception of the afternoon when a high-thrown ball tipped off his hands and landed in the arms of Marlon Humphrey, but he returned on the following drive and immediately made a 34-yard reception. He was pivotal late in the game, hauling in three passes on an 80-yard drive that stalled with a pick-six near the Ravens end zone. Chase did about all he could for the Bengals and his fantasy managers. Now sitting on a 101-1,147-5 line, Chase will look to continue his WR1 ways next week against the Dolphins.

The first half of this game was played in some pretty intense snow, and the field remained slippery for much of the second half, but the Bengals had 338 yards of offense, so, surprisingly, Chase couldn’t get there. Part of it is that Tee Higgins had a good day, but the other aspect of it is that CB Christian Benford has played well for Buffalo since managing through an injury to start the season. Benford shadowed Chase all over the field on Sunday, and, according to Next Gen Stats, in the 16 matchups between the two, Chase had no catches on just two targets, so Joe Burrow just took easier throws elsewhere. Chase should be in for a much bigger day next week against the Ravens.