Ja’Marr Chase took a major step toward playing in Week 1 on Wednesday, when the Cincinnati Bengals listed him as a full participant on their first injury report of the season. Zac Taylor said Chase is on track to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, easing early concern around the knee issue that had put his status in question.
That matters now because Wednesday was the first injury report of the year, and it gave the Bengals their first public read on how ready their top receivers are for a home opener that arrives fast. Tee Higgins was also listed as a full participant, and Taylor said both wideouts are on track to suit up when the Bengals open their 2026 campaign in Week 1.
For Chase, the report was a clean answer to a question that had been hanging over the week. He had been listed with a knee injury, but a full practice designation usually signals a player handled the workload without meaningful limitation. Higgins had his own injury note, a heel issue, but he too was full, giving Cincinnati a strong early sign that its passing game should have its two biggest targets available.
The Bengals did have one name that kept the report from being entirely settled. Shemar Stewart practiced in full, but Taylor would not go as far as saying he is definitely in for this week. That left one open end in a report that was otherwise encouraging for Cincinnati, which also had Dax Hill off the injury report and set to play.
Tampa Bay had its own list to manage. Emeka Egbuka was a full participant, while Ruben Bain Jr., Jalen McMillan, Christian Rozeboom and Justin Skule were limited, and Sean Tucker got a DNP. Billy Schrauth practiced in full. The numbers do not decide Sunday’s game, but they do shape how both sides enter it, and right now the Bengals have the clearer win at the top of the board: Chase is trending toward playing, and the risk that made his knee worth watching appears to be fading before kickoff.
