Add the Bengals star WR to the list of playmakers with drama surrounding their immediate availability in 2024. Chase still has two years left on his current deal in Cincinnati including the 5th-year option that he had picked up earlier this offseason, so his leverage isn’t as strong as, say, Ceedee Lamb or Brandon Aiyuk. Both of them are on the final year of their respective deals, a stark difference from Chase who doesn’t exactly have incredible ifluence to force an extension this offseason. Regardless of the logistics, Chase has already more than proven himself among the league’s best as a top-flight receiver in the NFL and it’s only a matter of time before he gets his mega-deal, be it this offseason or the next. Bengals president Mike Brown quickly flattened any speculation about a potential early deal for the former LSU star, saying that now may not be ‘the good time to negotiate’ with training camp getting underway. The current read on the situation is that Chase could be primed for a hold-in, so to speak, as he’s been present at the team’s practices but has refused to participate. Given the current trends, it’s unlikely that Chase misses any time even if a deal isn’t pushed over the finish line – however, in the event that this becomes an issue and Chase misses regular season games, WRs Tee Higgins and rookie Jermaine Burton would be set up nicely as QB Joe Burrow’s top options to open the year.