Ja’Marr Chase Practicing; Andrei Iosivas Bengals’ Primary Slot Receiver Vs. Patriots

In the Bengals’ first extensive practice of the week leading to Sunday’s (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Local 12) opener against the Patriots at Paycor Stadium, all looked to be well in Bengaldom with three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on the practice field Wednesday.

Chase returned to practice after he got on the field last week for some work against the backdrop of contract extension negotiations. Through the preseason, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has remained upbeat about Chase’s ability to get out of the gate quickly despite a truncated training camp.

He cites his work ethic in the weight room and familiarity with the playbook, where he plays all three wide receiver positions.

Before Wednesday’s practice, Taylor said fitting Chase into a game plan with limited practice reps and not knowing his availability isn’t out of the ordinary.

“We deal with this all the time with injuries,” Taylor said. “Where guys are limited through the week or don’t practice during the week, and our guys have always done a great job in the meetings of being responsible for it. I think we do a good job of teaching that, walking through it. There are a lot of ways to get people ready to play in a game.”

It looks like Dan Pitcher could have Chase in his first game as the Bengals offensive coordinator. No matter when he gets him, Pitcher said before practice he has no worries what he’ll get.

“I think he’s undertaken actions to help him play when he plays, and I’m not concerned about his level of play when we have him,” Pitcher said.

It’s not only the first post-Bill Belichick game for the Patriots, it’s also the first post-Tyler Boyd game for the Bengals as they try to fill his production in the slot.

Although sophomore Andrei Iosivas had a terrific camp playing all over the place in Chase’s absence, Pitcher said Iosivas is going to be his primary guy in the slot against New England.