Ja'Marr Chase reveals area where Bengals coaches don't trust him

Over his first three seasons in the NFL, Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals clearly established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the entire league. Chase went over 1,000 receiving yards and was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three years, and he also scored 29 total touchdowns.

However, despite his productive play, Chase recently revealed that there's an area where Bengals coaches still don't trust him -- the slot.

“They still don’t trust me in the slot yet," Chase said. "That’s why I haven’t played it so much.”

So, why don't the Bengals trust Chase in the slot? "I don't know," Chase said. "That's the question for them to answer."

This apparent lack of trust doesn't bother Chase, though. Instead, it shows him that there's still areas where he can improve. Plus, he takes pride in being coachable.

“I can understand that, though,” Chase said. “I could take coaching at the end of the day. I look at that as coaching, you know, they helping me on running certain routes differently. They just helping me be a better receiver at the end of the day.”

The lack of trust that Chase referred to could be largely due to a lack of experience. Chase spent much more time on the outside as opposed to in the slot over his first three seasons, so Cincinnati's coaches are probably just more comfortable with having him line up on the outside as that's where he has excelled.

Moving forward, perhaps the Bengals will opt to have Chase spend a bit more time in the slot. If that happens, Cincinnati's trust in Chase in that area will likely grow.

“I feel like you get more freedom the more plays you make, the more they trust you,” Chase said. That will likely be the case in this situation.

With three seasons under his belt, Chase is eligible to sign a long-term extension with Cincinnati over the offseason, and all signs point to the Bengals wanting to lock him up for the foreseeable future. The increase in the NFL's salary cap for the upcoming season should provide Cincinnati with some added flexibility in that regard.