Bengals Beat: Ja’Marr Chase Officially Questionable, Tee Higgins Out, Cam Sample Ready To Step Up For Sam Hubbard

CINCINNATI — Ja’Marr Chase knows how important he is to the Bengals.

This is even more relevant as it appears Tee Higgins will be out again – possibly for multiple games – with a hamstring injury sustained in Wednesday’s practice.

“I know what Tee’s up to and I know what I’ve got to do, too,” Chase said. “I’ve just got to be there for my teammates right now. If I can go, I’m going to go.”

Higgins was officially ruled out Friday while Chase is listed as questionable to play through the back soreness from his fall Sunday night against Buffalo.

This is a bit different from the “make sure you’re 100 percent” message he told Joe Burrow regarding his calf back in July and August.

The situation is a bit more critical. The Bengals are no longer at the beginning of the season, with some margin of error. The team is on a four-game winning streak but the team is still at 5-3, tied with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, 1.5 games behind 7-2 Baltimore in the AFC North.

The good news is that for Chase his back injury was simply a matter of treating the soreness and getting himself ready to play. There’s no soft-tissue injury or bone break involved.

“In my head, I’m playing,” Chase said.

Tune in Sunday to see how much.

The Bengals are likely to use some sort of rotation with rookies Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones complementing Trenton Irwin in the role of Higgins, with Chase and Tyler Boyd fulfilling their typical responsibilities.

This is a scenario the Bengals planned for when drafting both Iosivas and Jones and retaining Irwin on the roster.

“From a football IQ standpoint, we need these guys to be smart when they come in here,” Taylor told me. “They can’t really struggle at a position because we’re gonna ask him to play multiple positions, especially the way we’ve drafted at receiver. We have three starters. We weren’t drafting a guy walk in the door and start. So your chance on the field has got to be backing up multiple positions. And so that’s something we had to pay attention to.”

Iosiavas has made the most of his opportunities, catching touchdown passes in the Seattle and San Francisco games.

“He’s big, fast, strong,” Taylor said. “He’s learning what it means to be an NFL receiver and keep up with the standard that we have here with those guys. And so I’ve been encouraged by everything I’ve seen from him. Just hasn’t had a lot of opportunities yet, really. But you know, over the course of the season, that that stuff’s gonna come.”

After not being targeted in the pass game for the first four games, Iosivas has just four catches on five targets for 23 yards and the two scores in the last four.

• Friday Notes:

The Bengals practiced outdoors on Friday, with Ja’Marr Chase catching passes in red zone drills. Tee Higgins did not participate and will not play Sunday per Zac Taylor Friday afternoon. Also sitting out this week will be Sam Hubbard, resting his strained right ankle. There is no specific timetable on either player. Hubbard aggravated the injury late in Sunday night’s win over the Bills. Higgins injured his hamstring during practice Wednesday.

• Love for Hobby:

One of the true gems of the Bengals coaching staff is Marion Hobby, the defensive line coach. He has earned a reputation as one of the most respected coaches on staff through his teaching and prodding of a talented and versatile group of defensive linemen. One of the strengths of the team, the group will be tested this week with Sam Hubbard out, and a group of three players – Cam Sample, Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy – likely to fill in for Hubbard.

“I mean, he’s a hell of a coach,” Sample told me Friday. “So basically in the defense so we all have a job. Everyone’s a little different on their technique, how to do stuff, But we’re results-based so we just gotta get the job done. And I think Coach Hobby understands that, He knows where to coach certain guys to make sure they’re playing to the best of their ability.”

Sample has been one of those extremely valuable linemen who can play essentially anywhere on the line except nose tackle, something that could come in handy should he need to move to the 3-tech spot and give either BJ Hill or DJ Reader a blow on Sunday.

“I’m good anywhere. Just line me up,” said Sample, who has played in 170 of the 517 defensive snaps this season. “I’m good anywhere to play. I don’t really have a preference.”

“I think (the versatility of the line) is amazing. I think you got BJ can play anything from those guards to he’ll go out there and play defense and for us a couple snaps. We have a bunch of guys who can do a bunch of different things for you on defense.”

Zac Taylor has never taken for granted Hobby’s ability to coach up his line.

“I don’t think our d-line – in general – gets enough credit,” Taylor said.

Linebacker Logan Wilson is the only Bengals player who has played in all 517 defensive snaps this season. Dax Hill is next at 514 snaps. Hubbard leads all Bengals d-linemen at 406 snaps.