Ja'Marr Chase reports to Bengals camp, puts even more pressure on CeeDee Lamb

The 2024 NFL offseason has been the year of the holdout. Top pass catchers, CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys, Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals and Brandon Aiyuk of the San Fransisco 49ers have all been absent from the majority of the preseason as they look for massive contract extensions.

These holdouts never really impact the regular season, unless you're Le'Veon Bell, as they're typically resolved by the start of the year.

But we sit just a short time away from Week 1 and none of these three superstar wideouts have been given their long-term extension.

Aiyuk has dominated the headlines as a potential trade candidate, but those rumors have fizzled out. He's likely going to get his extension in the near future. Chase and Lamb have been a bit more under the radar with their holdouts.

Bengals Ja'Marr Chase reports to camp, turning up heat on Cowboys CeeDee Lamb

The most likely scenario is that all three of these wideouts will get their extensions and then they will play up to the expectations in the coming year. They're just way too valuable to their offenses to not get the money they deserve.

Chase seems to be on good terms with the Bengals too. It was recently reported by multiple credible sources that Chase was at practice and participating for the first time in camp. He doesn't have a new contract yet, but it's a massive step in the right direction for the Bengals. It definitely indicates that he isn't planning on holding out into the regular season and he anticipates getting his new deal done soon.

And this just turns the heat up on the Cowboys' superstar wide receiver.

Lamb doesn't have a contract in place and the Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has indicated that the organization is in no rush to get the deal done. This is completely against the idea that situations like this are extremely urgent to the front office.

Lamb is probably the best of the three wideouts that are actively holding out and his contract will likely reflect that. There's a good chance that none of them want to be the first to sign as they will just be one-upped by the next two wideouts that sign.

The first to sign will likely set the baseline for the next generations of wide receivers where the other two get paid slightly higher.

It's definitely an interesting storyline to follow as the season inches closer. It's an absolute disaster if any of these organizations allow their superstar wideouts to miss regular season time.