The biggest news from the Cincinnati Bengals’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers is the spitting incident between wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and defensive back Jalen Ramsey, in which Chase appeared to spit on Ramsey after the two had already had an altercation after the previous play.
So it isn’t surprising that the day after the game that head coach Zac Taylor is getting tons of questions about it. He stopped mid-press conference to go on a bit of a rant in defense of his All-Pro receiver.
”I think Ja’Marr Chase will go down as one of my favorite all-time players and favorite all-time leaders and everything he is about. It’s like we are trying to make something out of this situation. It’s the only thing that’s kind of upset me as I’m sitting in here. For a guy who has done everything we can to build our organization around, he’s been awesome,” Taylor said of Chase.
“Not perfect. I’m not perfect. Trust me, I made plenty of mistakes yesterday. People don’t see on camera. Unfortunately, his was. He’s going to have to own up to that. That will be part of his journey.
”In some ways, he’s a veteran. I think he’s going to play for a long time. So when you look at the overall part of his career, this will be the beginning of his career in a lot of ways. We are going to move past that, and he is a guy we are going to continue to depend on. He’s a guy I will put at the forefront of any leadership group I ever have for the rest of my life.
“When I retire, I will bring Ja’Marr Chase in as a board member of whatever leadership board I create to talk to people I want him to talk to. I hope you understand my position on this because he is a guy who has done everything he possibly could to help us win and do things the right way.”
It isn’t surprising to see Taylor stick up for Chase, but for him to stick his neck out that far tells you why players really like Taylor.
Chase has taken on more of a leadership role this season. It has especially grown with Joe Burrow out for an extended period of time. He has almost weekly press conferences at this point, and you can see him talking with players and coaches on the sideline regularly.
This is probably the last bit holding him back. It has shades of him getting 15-yard penalties against the Kansas City Chiefs last season after they didn’t call a hip-drop tackle. Sometimes his emotions get the best of him, and some people are just emotional. It doesn’t make him a bad guy. It just makes these situations something he needs to watch out for and maybe step back from sooner, before they get to that point.
Chase will likely go down as one of the best to do it. These incidents are going to be things that might nitpick him for, but no one is going to say Randy Moss isn’t one of the best, even if they didn’t appreciate his mooning celebration at Lambeau.
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