Sources - Ja'Marr Chase doesn't plan to talk deal with Bengals during season - ESPN

Ja'Marr Chase has no plans to negotiate a long-term deal this season with the Cincinnati Bengals, league sources told ESPN.

Talks between Chase and the Bengals are off for now, and likely for the rest of the season unless the team does something to change the current situation.

According to sources, the star wide receiver believes the Bengals misled him when they told him at the end of last season and again during the offseason that he would get an extension that ultimately did not happen.

To reinforce his word and strengthen his position, Chase also has taken out a $50 million insurance policy on himself for this season to safeguard against injury and any potential lost earnings. As one source said about Chase, with the insurance policy in place, «He's good.»

The Bengals always could try to jumpstart negotiations with Chase. But Cincinnati has a long history of not negotiating deals during the season, and it is considered unlikely that will change, especially considering that Chase is said to have no intention of continuing contract talks and with the team focused on Sunday's game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

The last time the Bengals extended one of their core players during the regular season was in 2015, when offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth signed a one-year extension. It was the only in-season contract extension the Bengals have done in the past 20 years, according to ESPN Research.

Chase and his representation believe the time to complete a deal was during the offseason, when the Bengals told him it would get done. The team first brought up this possibility at Chase's exit meeting after last season, then again at the NFL scouting combine.

Chase then watched other players in his