Bengals’ WR Ja’Marr Chase is dealing with a hip injury that is expected to sideline him 4-6 weeks and makes him a prime candidate for injured reserve, per sources. Chase visited with a hip specialist Wednesday and is seeking more answers about his injury.

Tough blow for Chase managers. It's an upgrade for Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Hayden Hurst, who all figure to see a bump in targets. Joe Mixon could also benefit from more passing work as well. Mike Thomas probably sees the biggest bump in playing time, though at age 28, he's never gained more than 132 yards receiving in a season. It's a blow to Joe Burrow's overall value, though in the current QB landscape, he's still a solid fantasy QB1.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins will be day-to-day with a sprained ankle, per Zac Taylor. LT Jonah Williams with a sprained MCL. Those will be managed throughout the week.

Related Players: Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Hayden Hurst

It was a rough scene for fantasy managers who were looking for some Higgins love on SNF. If he is forced out of Week 6, it could be a nice spot for Tyler Boyd to operate as the team's WR2.

Bengals HC Zac Taylor told reporters Friday that WR Ja'Marr Chase has a chance to play Week 18.

Cool if Chase does, but it is okay if he does not with nothing to play for.

I thought it was Joe Burrow’s best day yet. Confident, scrambling at times, and making good intermediate throws for 1st downs. By my count, 10-for-15 in full team drills including a drive that ended with a short Joe Mixon TD run.

I also thought it was Ja’Marr Chase’s best practice so far with a TD in 7-on-7s.

It's good to see from the Bengals, as we've seen several reports this summer about their offense struggling. We also had a report about Chase on Monday that painted a picture of him struggling with separation and drops. So it's perhaps a turning point for the Bengals today.

A thought existed that Ja'Marr Chase could walk on to the Paul Brown Stadium practice fields and dominate from the first snap. His skill set is that unique. You see flashes of that early, but you also see somebody tentatively getting used to a new offense, new league and not playing football since January 2020. He has endured a string of drops, on short and long passes, with another coming Sunday. He has not shown as much separation as you’d hope, and the contested balls haven’t gone his way much, either.

Chase is ranked 20th among our WRs right off the bat. But as the story said, this isn't to say he won’t start picking that up with more reps over the next month, and the story isn't trying to sound an alarm. The good news is, Chase is working after practice every day and, by all accounts, taking it seriously, and his skills and history are too impressive to think he won’t find a groove once he starts playing off instincts instead of constantly having to think about what he’s doing every play, the story said. It went on to say, most of this is all part of being a rookie receiver and improving as you go. But after 10 practices, Chase is clearly still fighting the rookie learning curve.