Bengals Could Be Without Star Wide Recivers Against Patriots

The Bengals' injury report Friday doesn't present a lot of optimism for their Week 1 matchup against the New England Patriots.

Cincinnati listed Ja'Marr Chase (rest) as questionable and Tee Higgins (hamstring) as doubtful. Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (thumb) and offensive tackle Amarius Mims (pectoral) were ruled out for Sunday's contest.

Over the summer, Chase "held in" while trying to negotiate a new contract. The star wideout was back at practice Wednesday and admitted to reporters Friday that even if he did play Week 1, he'd be limited. Head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters this week that New England would prepare as if Chase would play.

Higgins was limited in practice Thursday due to a hamstring injury. He missed practice Friday. It's worth noting that this is the fourth time in the 25-year-old's NFL career that he's dealt with a hamstring issue. And even if he does play, the Bengals have a history of limiting his snap counts or just deploying him as a decoy like in their Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2022 season.

If Chase and Higgins were to miss Week 1, that would leave second-year wideouts Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones and rookie Jermain Burton as the likely starters against the Patriots.

Things could change heading into game time, but the Patriots could catch a break in their season-opener.