Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase did not participate in practice on Wednesday, just one day after head coach Zac Taylor told the media that Chase would be a full-time player all week.

Chase was there on Wednesday, as ESPN’s Ben Baby photographed, but he was not working out. He had participated in light workouts on Monday and Tuesday, prompting Taylor to say Tuesday afternoon, “The plan is to continue to work out with him.” Apparently Taylor spoke a little too quickly.

Chase has essentially been “holding back” all preseason, wanting to make more than the $1.1 million he’s scheduled to make in 2024 (though his salary will rise above $21 million in 2025 since the Bengals picked up his fifth-year option in April). And he’s used a variety of methods to communicate his desires. He’s been to training camp, but not as a participant. There have been times when he hasn’t been to the facility at all. He hasn’t appeared in any preseason games. He jumped back into practice earlier this week, but now he’s back on the sidelines.

Chase has been instrumental in the Bengals’ recent success, a standout on the field catching passes from QB Joe Burrow and a reliable scorer in fantasy games, catching 100 passes in 2023 and reaching 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons.

Although his reticence complicates things on the field (he has barely practiced in the last month) and in the fantasy league (where in the world do you draft an impact player who hasn’t practiced?!), he deserves to get paid and is doing what he needs to do to make sure the Bengals give him what he’s worth.

Taylor also said Tuesday that he expects Chase to play in Week 1 against the New England Patriots. That still seems to be the plan, but with the rapid changes at Bengals headquarters, no one knows what the future holds.