Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase Ruled Out vs. Vikings with Shoulder Injury

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The Cincinnati Bengals ruled out superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase for the remainder of the game after he suffered a shoulder injury late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Mike Garafolo reported on the NFL Network broadcast that the receiver was dealing with separated shoulder.

According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Chase was checked out in the locker room and returned to the sidelines in street clothes.

Despite Chase’s absence, the Bengals scored a touchdown on a pass from Jake Browning to Tee Higgins in the closing seconds of regulation to tie the score at 24-24 and force overtime.

Although he has been banged up at times, Chase has not missed a game this season, and he entered Saturday’s contest with 89 receptions for 1,092 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prior to exiting Saturday, Chase had four catches for 64 yards in the contest.

Chase has been mostly healthy since being selected by the Bengals fifth overall in the 2021 draft out of LSU. However, he appeared in just 12 games during the 2022 season due to a hairline hip fracture and torn labrum that caused him to miss four games in the middle of the campaign.

If Chase misses time beyond Saturday’s game, Browning will likely primarily turn to Higgins and Boyd at wideout.

The opposition will likely see a heavy dose of running back Joe Mixon as well, plus plenty of run from tight ends Irv Smith Jr., Tanner Hudson and Drew Sample.

Cincinnati entered Saturday’s game with a 7-6 record, putting it in the thick of the AFC wild-card race.