Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor Defends Suspended WR Ja'Marr Chase

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals head coach wasn’t excusing wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jalen Ramsey in Sunday’s 34-12 loss.

“Obviously what happened is crossing the line and we can't have that,” Taylor said. “I know he'll own up to that.”

Perhaps Chase will own up to it at a later time, but a few minutes prior to Taylor’s news conference, Chase declined comment during the period when the locker room was open to the media.

During his news conference, Taylor offered an impassioned defense of Chase’s character and pushed back on the narrative swirling around the receiver in wake of Sunday’s incident.

“Ja'Marr's one of my favorite players,” Taylor said. “I love how this guy handles everything that he's been a part of, so making one mistake doesn't disregard everything this guy's done that's been positive for us.

“I can't say enough positive things about Ja'Marr,” Taylor continued. “Think about the amount of situations people have tried to put him in and the way that he's always responded. We're not all perfect. We're going to make a mistake here and there, but I stand by Ja'Marr.”

While it’s the first time Chase has been suspended, it’s not “one mistake” for Chase.

He’s been fined more than $91,000 for four previous unsportsmanlike conduct infractions, including verbally abusing an official, obscene gestures and taunting.

Chase is appealing the suspension, per a league source.

If he doesn’t win the appeal, he will be the first player the league has suspended for an ensuring game for spitting on an opponent.

There have been ejections and fines, but not suspensions.

Chase took exception to a late hit by Ramsey earlier in the game, and the two players went at it on each of the two plays before the one that led to the spitting.

Nothing happened after the first play, but both players were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the second play.

Following the third, they got face to face again, and that’s when Chase spit on Ramsey.

“I know it's an emotional situation,” Taylor said. “I know there's a lot of things going on there that lead to things like that. We'll just continue to move forward.”

In a somewhat similar situation two weeks ago, Washington defensive lineman Daron Payne was ejected and suspended one game for punching Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

When the league reviewed the film later, it saw St. Brown hit Payne first. St. Brown was fined $12,172 but was not suspended.

Ramsey could be subject to fines for his unpenalized late hit against Chase earlier in the game and/or punching Chase after the spitting incident.

Taylor was asked if this is a setback for Chase after he was voted a captain for the first time this year.

"No. Again, people are allowed to make a mistake,” he said. “Ja’Marr Chase will go down as one of my favorite all-time players and favorite all-time leaders and everything he is about. It’s like we are trying to make something out of this situation. It’s the only thing that’s kind of upset me as I’m sitting in here. For a guy that has done everything we can to build our organization around he’s been awesome. Not perfect.

“I’m not perfect. Trust me, I made plenty of mistakes yesterday. People don’t see on camera. Unfortunately his was,” Taylor continued. “He’s going to have to own up for that. That will be part of his journey. When you look at the overall part of his career, this will be the beginning of his career in a lot of ways. We are going to move past that, and he is a guy we are going to continue to depend on.

“He’s a guy I will put at the forefront of any leadership group I ever have for the rest of my life,” Taylor added. “When I retire, I will bring Ja’Marr Chase in as a board member of whatever leadership board I create to talk to people. I hope you understand my position on this because he is a guy who has done everything he possibly could to help us win and do things the right way.”