Bengals' hopes of Ja'Marr Chase playing Week 1 took a massive hit at practice

A couple of days ago, Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase became the proverbial "last man standing" when Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb got his new contract.

After Lamb was paid, the pressure was on the Bengals to get Chase paid. Just a day later, head coach Zac Taylor spoke to the media and relayed confidence that Chase would not only start practicing with the team, but that he'll play come Week 1.

After an offseason full of questions, rumors, whispers and even a little bit of drama within the wide receiver room (see: Tee Higgins), it looked like all was going to be well, for this season, at least. Higgins appears to be ready to play out the year on the franchise tag, and there were feelings of Chase and the Bengals getting his new contract done eventually.

On Wednesday, though, things seemingly took an odd turn for the worse. Bengals beat reporter Kelsey Conway posted a video of Chase showing up to practice.

That's the good news.

The bad news? Chase was late to practice and, to top it off, he showed up in street clothes.

Did Ja'Marr Chase change his tune on the contract situation at hand?

What happened to the plan? Taylor had said the plan was for Chase to practice with the team and that he'd be ready to play Week 1. Fans had high hopes to see their star wide receiver on the field after not seeing him in action over the offseason.

But now, Chase isn't practicing -- at least not today ... not yet.

So, what gives?

Did Chase change his mind, suddenly? Was Taylor speaking on the situation without knowing all of the wide receiver's current feelings on the matter?

This appears to be a fluid situation, but at the moment, things don't look to be trending in a positive direction. The Bengals should be concerned. That much is true.

Fans have to be tired of this situation. It hasn't necessarily "dramatic," to this stage, but this update warrants some pause. Is Chase's situation turning into what might constitute as official drama? With Week 1 just 11 days away, it's now crunch time.

It's time for the Bengals to get it together. Unless Chase is demanding something outlandish, Cincinnati needs to wrap this up. For example, unless Chase wants a significant amount more than what Justin Jefferson was paid, the Bengals have to give him what he desires.

And, allow me to go out on a limb and suggest that Chase wouldn't make those kinds of demands. He understands he should get right around the same type of money as Jefferson. But, do the Bengals understand that?

There's a lot going on, here, so we'll try and keep fans up-to-date with the latest.