Bengals Notes: Ja'Marr Chase's Struggles Continue, Plus the Latest on the Offensive Line

Here's the latest news from Paul Brown Stadium.

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Aug 22, 2021 11:19 PM EDT

CINCINNATI — The Bengals practiced on Sunday afternoon with the start of the regular season just three weeks away.

Rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase dropped two passes in team drills, including one pass that ended up in the hands of safety Vonn Bell during a red zone period.

^{"The expectations are so high that you expect him to be a star right out the gate, but it takes work," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. "You gotta put in the work. That consistency comes over time and by no means are we down on Ja’Marr. He’s just going through some of the things rookies go through in training camp and we expect him to improve over the course of this week."}

Chase stayed after practice to work on his game. He caught passes from different angles and in contested catch situations. Watch video of the 21-year-old here.

O-Line Competition Continues

Quinton Spain and Xavier Su'a-Filo practiced with the first-team at left and right guard, respectively.

Spain appears to be the favorite to win the starting left guard job. Xavier Su'a-Filo still appears to be behind Michael Jordan in the battle at right guard, but both spots are still up for grabs.

^{"There’s been a lot of progress made there and it’s been not just maybe two guys take this thing and run with it because we have seen that," Taylor said. "Those two veterans played well in the game. There was good things to build off with them."}

Taylor hopes to name a starting line shortly after Sunday's preseason finale against Miami.

^{“I think that would be ideal after the game, going into that final week before the game to have a general idea," he said. "It’s not set in stone that when this game ends we’ll name the starters, but I think we’ll probably have a pretty good idea of what direction we’re headed for Week 1.”}

Hopkins to Start

Taylor did confirm that he plans on veteran center Trey Hopkins getting the start in Week 1 against the Vikings, even if he doesn't play against Miami. Hopkins suffered a torn ACL in January, but was fully cleared prior to camp. He hasn't appeared in either of the Bengals' first two preseason games.

Burrow to Boyd

Joe Burrow found Tyler Boyd for two touchdowns during team drills on Sunday. Most of the big plays on offense came from the Bengals' slot receiver.

Burrow has a great rapport with Boyd. Don't be shocked if he has a huge season.

Burrow also threw three interceptions, including the one that was dropped by Chase.

Bell had two of the three takeaways. Jessie Bates had the other.

Practice Scuffle

Joe Mixon and Germaine Pratt got into a scuffle during team drills. Mixon smacked Pratt's helmet and the two players grabbed each other before quickly being separated.

Watch highlights from Sunday's practice here.

Make sure you bookmark AllBengals for the latest training camp news, including exclusive interviews, highlights and so much more!

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