Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase listed as questionable, RB Joe Mixon out vs. Titans

Bengals star receiver Ja’Marr Chase will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Titans, Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said Friday. Here’s what you need to know:

Chase returned to practice this week after missing the last three games with a hip injury.
Chase was limited in practice Friday. When asked if Chase would play Sunday, Taylor said, “We’ll see.”
Taylor said running back Joe Mixon did not clear protocol after suffering a head injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s 37-30 victory against Pittsburgh.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Backstory

Chase suffered a hip injury during the Bengals’ Week 7 win against Atlanta. He wasn’t placed on injured reserve, which indicated the team hoped he would miss fewer than four games.

If Chase plays, he will have missed three games. During that stretch, the Bengals went 2-1, beating the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers, while losing to the Cleveland Browns. Cincinnati also posted its two highest scores of the year and two of the four highest yardage totals.

Chase, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, has 47 receptions for 605 yards and six touchdowns in seven games this season. He had two of the biggest plays in the 19-16 Division Round playoff win at Nashville 10 months ago. He took a short pass 57 yards to set up an Evan McPherson field goal that gave the Bengals a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. And one play after Logan Wilson intercepted Ryan Tannehill near midfield with 20 seconds to go in a tie game, Chase broke free on a bench route for a 19-yard gain that set up McPherson’s 52-yard game winner.

The Bengals face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Who could fill in for Mixon?

Samaje Perine will get the start for Mixon, fresh off catching three touchdowns in the win against the Steelers. Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans, who missed last week with a knee injury, will be his backups. — Morrison

What they’re saying

Chase was limited in practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and Taylor said it was a good week for him and not to read anything into the fact that he wasn’t a full participant in any of the sessions.

“We’ve got plenty of guys that don’t practice full that end up playing on Sunday,” Taylor said.

Taylor made it sound as though the trainers and coaches have seen all they needed to see from Chase physically, and the decision will come down to whether it’s in the player’s and the team’s best interest to go Sunday or wait another week. Taylor said they don’t need to see anything from Chase in pregame warmups Sunday and that it’s “more about conversations throughout the next 48 hours.”

“Ja’Marr is easy to communicate with, for me to let him know what my thinking is over the course of the week and get a feel for where he’s at,” Taylor added. “He’s honest, which is good. So you don’t have to feel out what does he really mean, how does he really feel. So we’ve had good dialogue.”

Taylor declined to say whether there would be any limitations on his usage if he does play.

“I won’t make any declarations like that,” he said. “It’s our job to protect him from himself. Whether that means full or a limited number of plays, I won’t make a commitment either way there.”

Required reading

(Photo: Stephen Lew / USA Today)