Steelers Could Miss Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase

The Cincinnati Bengals could be without star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a pivotal game on Saturday. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Chase is expected to miss time with his injury, and the expectation is that he will not play in Pittsburgh.

The injury is to his right shoulder, and Chase was seen on the sideline in a hoodie after suffering the injury. Without him, Tee Higgins carried the Bengals forward without Chase, but both have not played much together this year, and the entire wide receiver corps with a fully healthy Joe Burrow has not seen many reps together.

Chase led Cincinnati’s receivers with four grabs for 64 yards before suffering an AC joint sprain and exiting the game. The Bengals didn’t miss a beat without Chase, however, as Higgins and Tyler Boyd both came up with clutch plays late in the contest.

Chase had four receptions for 81 yards (20.2 average) but no touchdowns in his first meeting against the Steelers. That was Browning’s first career start, as well. The Steelers’ pass defense has struggled immensely the last few weeks, so they must develop a proper plan to stop the hot Bengals.

That is not the only injury that the Bengals have suffered. In addition to Chase, standout defensive tackle D.J. Reader and quality special teamer D.J. Ivey both suffered knee injuries and are out for the rest of the season.