The Cincinnati Bengals have a new quarterback. Joe Flacco will now be throwing to Cincinnati’s dangerous tandem of receivers. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are two of the best receiver duos in the NFL, but they haven’t quite gotten off to the dominant start they were hoping for. Chase has another obstacle to overcome now, as he missed practice on Friday.
Ja’Marr Chase Injury Update
Chase missed practice on Friday due to illness and is questionable for their Week 6 game against the Green Bay Packers. It’s going to be a race against time to see if Chase can overcome his illness by Sunday’s game time. Chase is undoubtedly one of the toughest receivers in the NFL to defend, and he would be a huge loss for Cincinnati if he can’t go.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase will be questionable for Sunday’s game, coach Zac Taylor said Missed today with an illness.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 10, 2025
The good news for the Bengals is that Chase attended the walkthrough before practice and made it through. Missing practice doesn’t help his status, but if he shows improvement, he could likely be suiting up for Flacco’s Bengal debut.
Chase has had an up-and-down season so far. He has had two monster games against Jacksonville and Detroit, but the other three haven’t met his standard. Chase is the 16th-ranked receiver in PFSN’s WR Impact score with an 83.5 grade. He has shown that he is better than what he puts on the field in 2025. The offense hasn’t been its explosive self without star QB Joe Burrow either.
The Cincinnati offense is the second-worst offense in the NFL on PFSN’s Offense Impact score. They are only better than the 1-4 Tennessee Titans. The Bengals have a grade of 55.6. Part of their struggles can be attributed to not having Burrow, as Jake Browning has failed to fill in for Burrow.
Browning is the lowest-ranked quarterback based on PFSN’s QB Impact score with a grade of 50.5. It isn’t getting much better with Flacco, though. Flacco is the third-worst quarterback in the same metric. His grade is slightly higher at 53.7. It’s an improvement, but not much. The Bengals need to electrify their offense again; missing Chase would be a massive blow.
The Bengals are at 2-3 and entering a pivotal season stretch. They will sit on their couches for the second-straight season if they don’t get going soon. Burrow’s injury has dampened expectations, but the Bengals have offensive talent to keep them afloat. It is up to them to figure it out, and they haven’t done that yet.
Maybe Flacco is the answer they’ve been looking for, but a struggling offense without its star player will not help. Bengals fans will be anxiously awaiting the latest update on Chase’s illness as they need him active. He can likely suit up if he did the walkthrough, but only time will tell if his illness gets better or worse as Sunday gets closer.