As the Cincinnati Bengals look ahead to Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans, fans are obviously wondering about the status of two key offensive playmakers. Zac Taylor spoke to the media on Monday afternoon and provided updates for those guys.
Ja'Marr Chase has not played since Week 8 and the offense has certainly missed him. When asked about Chase's status moving forward, Taylor said he doesn't have a ruling for Chase as far as playing this weekend but noted that "Everything has been positive up to this point", which is obviously promising.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase will resume practicing this week, coach Zac Taylor said.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) November 21, 2022
Taylor said it’s hard to make a prediction for Chase’s availability for Sunday’s game against TEN.
“Everything has been positive up to this point, which we hoped it would be.”
The other key player is Joe Mixon, who was dinged up in the win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. Taylor said that the running back is currently in the concussion protocol and they'll monitor how he progresses throughout the week leading up to the game.
Zac Taylor: Joe Mixon is in concussion protocol. We’ll have to see how he progresses through the week. #Bengals
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) November 21, 2022
Bengals injury update on Ja'Marr Chase, Joe Mixon
While the Bengals offense has rebounded since they were first without Chase, it'll still be huge having him back on the gridiron whenever that does happen. The meat of Cincinnati's schedule is coming up too, as they'll play the Titans, Chiefs, Buccaneers, Patriots, and Bills down the stretch. They'll also have a Browns team with Deshaun Watson at quarterback so having Chase back for those tough games will be key.
As for Mixon, he hasn't been the same guy fans have been used to watching. He had five touchdowns in Week 9 but then this past week didn't get much going while Samaje Perine scored three receiving touchdowns.
The Bengals have dealt with more injuries this season than they had to last year and how they respond in the meaty portion of their schedule will tell us everything we need to know about the Cincinnati Bengals this year.