Bengals WRS Higgins, Boyd aid Chase through struggles
Ja’marr Chase’s struggles in his first training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals are well documented. The rookie has struggled to catch the ball during practice and in his first two preseason games.
Fortunately for Chase, he spends every day with two teammates who know what it takes to get through a rough patch: Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. It’s not uncommon for wide receivers to deal with their fair share of drops at some point in their career, Boyd and Higgins admitted.
There’s a reason why Chase’s teammates and coaches haven’t expressed the slightest doubt. Boyd seems to think what’s going on with Chase isn’t physical, it’s mental.
“He knows what to do,” Boyd said. “He knows how to run his routes. … It’s just he’s overthinking at the catch point. We know and he knows what type of guy he is. It’s more so the mental side. I think he’ll get over that, he’ll start making more plays because we’ll continue to go to him.”
Things appear to be trending in the right direction. For instance, the former LSU star didn’t drop a pass during Monday’s practice after a tough outing Sunday.
The Bengals are using the days leading up to their final preseason game as a mock game week. If Chase can continue to put together a strong week of practice, it could go a long way for his confidence level come Sept. 12.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has never wavered in his expectations or confidence for Chase. Following Cincinnati’s preseason loss to the Washington Football team in which he had three drops, Taylor made no excuses for his star wide receiver while also expressing optimism.
“By no means are we down on Ja’marr,” Taylor said. “He’s just going through some of the things rookies go through in training camp, and we expect him to improve over the course of this week.”