Ja’Marr Chase enters Week 9 in Madrid off the best receiving afternoon of his season. He caught 11 passes for 141 yards in the Cincinnati Bengals‘ 43-36 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans, and he found the end zone in that same game.
The only open question was whether the short turnaround to Spain changed anything. Cincinnati’s latest injury report answered it. Chase is not listed on the Week 9 injury report.
Ja’Marr Chase Injury Update
Ja’Marr Chase Injury Update Gives Bengals WR Clear Status
The Bengals left Chase off their Wednesday report entirely. That report was only an estimate because the team held a walkthrough instead of a full practice, but it did not carry any new designation for the club’s top receiver.
Chase also made the trip. He traveled with the team to Madrid on Tuesday, and Bengals.com published a travel photo identifying him among the players on board ahead of the league’s international weekend against the Atlanta Falcons.
That leaves no verified reason to describe Chase as injured. The report instead points toward normal availability, though the inactive list will not be final until game day.
Chase Is Coming off a Big Game
The Week 8 outing was his strongest of the season. Chase caught 11 of 16 targets for 141 yards against the Titans, with a 30-yard long and one trip to the end zone.
His 16 targets were a season high. The performance pushed his 2026 totals to 43 catches for 492 yards, and he has six touchdowns through seven games, according to NFL statistics.
Joe Burrow played one of his strongest games of the season as well. He completed 38 of 48 passes for 462 yards against Tennessee. He threw five passing touchdowns in that game and added a rushing score.
That connection gives Cincinnati every reason to involve Chase early against Atlanta. The Falcons have to account for him while also handling Tee Higgins.
Bengals Still Have Another Major Target
Tee Higgins arrives in Week 9 as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. He caught 10 passes for 155 yards against Tennessee and scored twice.
Through 7 games, he has 43 catches for 726 yards. His 16.9 yards per catch led the Bengals among their main receivers.
That production changes how a defense can approach Chase. Cincinnati no longer needs one receiver to carry every important down, and the Chase-Higgins pairing forces Atlanta to pick a side. Higgins punishes coverage that leans too far toward Chase, and Chase creates the same problem when the Falcons give Higgins extra attention.
Mike Gesicki gives Burrow another option at tight end. He has 17 catches for 241 yards through seven games. He also has six touchdowns.
What His Status Means for Week 9
Nothing in the current information points to an injury concern before Sunday. Chase is absent from the Week 9 report. He traveled to Spain with the team, and Cincinnati has announced no limitations on him.
That makes the matchup about performance rather than availability. The Bengals have already shown how heavily they will use him. His 16-target outing against Tennessee came in a game where Higgins drew 11.
Atlanta falls to 3-5 after a 16-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons have injury concerns of their own, with several players listed on their Wednesday report.
For fantasy managers, the evidence supports treating Chase as available, and the Week 9 slate offers little reason to sit him. The final inactive report remains the last confirmation before kickoff, and no verified report currently suggests a restriction.
The Last Word
Chase’s status is more reassuring than alarming. Cincinnati’s Wednesday report does not list him, and the team has already taken him to Madrid for the Week 9 matchup. His recent production gives the Bengals another reason to keep him central to the passing game.
The bigger problem sits with Atlanta. Higgins is coming off a 155-yard afternoon, and Chase just produced 141 yards of his own. Burrow has thrown 20 touchdowns through seven games. If the full group is available Sunday, the Falcons have to defend a passing attack that spreads the ball without moving away from its top receiver.
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