Ja'Marr Chase deal unlikely this season, Bengals president says - ESPN

CINCINNATI — A contract extension for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase may not be imminent, team president Mike Brown indicated Monday.

At the team's annual media luncheon, Brown was asked whether negotiations will continue into the regular season. While the longtime head executive said, «opportunities can arise unexpectedly» and the team is open to agreeing to a deal if it is right for the club, conditions aren't currently ideal to sign Chase to a contract extension as veterans prepare to report for camp on Tuesday.

«It's not so likely that this is the good time to negotiate,» Brown said. «The offseason is a better time for that and we're going to try to keep focused on the football part.

»I'm not going to rule anything out, but I will tell you that the die has probably been cast."

Chase, a first-round pick in the 2021 draft, has been a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first three NFL seasons and has set franchise records for most receiving yards in a single game and a single season.

Even though the Bengals didn't make the playoffs last season following quarterback Joe Burrow's season-ending wrist injury, Chase still earned a Pro Bowl nod and finished the year with 1,216 receiving yards, the 12th-most in the league.

In what is typically his only media availability of the calendar year, Brown emphasized Chase's importance to the franchise and the desire to get a deal done.

«He's a key player next to Joe [Burrow],» Brown said. «He's our next one. He knows that. We know it. This may take a while. We are going to bend over backwards to get it done. I can't tell you when.»

Chase did not participate in the team's voluntary workouts and while he did report for the mandatory minicamp in June and participated in