The Cincinnati Bengals made a change to the designation of wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase on the team's injury report.
In a somewhat surprising move, the Bengals updated Chase's injury designation on Saturday. He was initially listed on the injury report with a "rest" designation.
It made sense considering Chase was a limited participant at practice all week despite not dealing with an actual injury. His hold-in amid a contract dispute likely meant he needed a few days to get his conditioning back.
However, the Bengals updated his designation on Saturday afternoon, adding an illness to his injury tag ahead of the Week 1 opener against the New England Patriots.
Ja'Marr Chase injury update
Chase is officially active for the Week 1 game against the Patriots.
He reportedly "woke up ill Saturday but felt better later in the day," according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on Sunday morning.
Fowler also reported that the Bengals "have had him in the game plan this week" in the event he plays.
Chase is still listed as questionable on the final injury report, and it's still unclear how much of a workload he will get if he does play on Sunday.
The superstar wideout told reporters after Friday's practice that he's open to playing in Week 1 without a new contract agreement but also called himself a game-time decision.
Chase also admitted that if he did play, he would probably be limited in the opener.
It was already a question as to whether Chase would play in Week 1 amid the contract dispute. Being on the injury report with an illness only increases the concern that the Bengals won't be at full capacity Sunday.
They are already expected to be without fellow star Tee Higgins, who tweaked his hamstring in the middle of the week. He's listed as doubtful as of Sunday morning.
If Chase doesn't go or is severely limited in the opener, the Bengals are likely to rely heavily on Andrei Iosivas, Trenton Irwin, Mike Gesicki and Jermaine Burton. Second-year running back Chase Brown also could be more involved in the passing game.
The team also elevated wide receiver Kendric Pryor to the active roster from the practice squad.
The Bengals will release the list of inactive players at 11:30 a.m. ET so that may be when the next update is revealed.
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