Zac Taylor Updates Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase's Health Trajectory Ahead of Week 1 Battle Against Tampa Bay

Trying to make it happen this week.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) and wide receiver Ja'marr Chase (1) chat during practice at the Paycor Stadium practice facility in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor addressed the media to open the festivities in Week 1 following the team's Monday practice.

Ja'Marr Chase (knee) and Tee Higgins (heel) continue to get full attention as Cincinnati hopes to have them on the field this Sunday to Open In Orange for the home fans.

Taylor continues to be optimistic that both will be on the field for the game. They both practiced with the team on Monday and didn't appear to be limited in that action.

"Wait to release injury reports on Wednesday. But I was encouraged by the progress; hopefully, those guys have made," Taylor said about the receivers.

All in all, Taylor's team has checked about every box you could ask for outside of these few minor health dings throughout the summer. Cincinnati's whole offensive line stayed healthy throughout the preseason, and the defense is seemingly gelling together very well with all the new pieces added.

That group returned names like Dax Hill, Shemar Stewart, and Bryan Cook to the practice field in recent weeks to get fully healthy in front of a massive season during Year 2 for Al Golden. Two newcomers are also captains for the team in Dexter Lawrence and Bryan Cook.

"Yeah, I think it factors in at every position," Taylor said about captain leadership traits. "When you've got a real veteran who can lead by example and is willing to help younger players with things that the coach isn't always going to be able to help you with.

"There are times where they're focused on another position, and you've got a veteran at the spot that can grab a young guy and help lead him and help point some things out. I think it's critical, and when we really have that at every position on our team, that's really good for us and the coaching staff to be able to have other guys that can be coaches on the field and help get the most out of everybody we got on the roster."

Cincinnati is off on Tuesday before getting into the normal regular-season Wednesday-Friday schedule. If Chase and Higgins log full practices Wednesday and Thursday, they should be good to go for the NFC-AFC battle against another eager contender in Tampa Bay.

For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Amazon.

Add us as a preferred source on Google