Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase didn’t need a lot of words or even sugarcoated coach-speak when he was asked about Travis Hunter.
In fact, he didn’t use any words at all.
A long pause, a slow head-shake, and a flat “That’s all I got” did all the talking from his part when a reporter asked him about the Jaguars‘ two-way star.
Did Ja’Marr Chase Actually Throw Shade at Travis Hunter?
The Future Hall of Famer holds his title of one of the best receivers in the NFL, if not the best, dear. Hunter is a rare player in himself as a two-way star who’s actually playing on both sides of the ball each week, no matter how few the reps might be.
While Chase’s clip has been making rounds online, and several fans took it as a clash of egos or something overreaching like that, but Chase was most probably at a loss for words because he simply hasn’t been tracking Hunter for that long. The classic “it’s about us, not them” approach, in other words.
In high pressure regular season, players often focus more on themselves than others, giving Chase no actual reason to think about Hunter. As one of the star players of the team he’s facing next week, sure. But not otherwise, not really. Not when he is so close, only 10 touchdowns away, from breaking Chad Johnson’s all-time Bengals record of 66 receiving touchdowns.
Also, it’s safe to say because Hunter had a very similar approach focusing on himself and not getting fazed about facing Chase when asked about him in the locker room.
Travis Hunter on Ja’Marr Chase
“He can do everything: He can run routes. He can get the ball in space and just do his thing,” Hunter said, per News4Jax. “Like I said, he can do everything. You know, it’s really not about him right now. It’s about us. We just got to do our jobs. He’s gonna do his thing, but we just gotta contain him and just be able to do what we do.”
However, what makes the Hunter and Chase rivalry more interesting is that they will be matched up quite a bit this Sunday. Hunter is getting more and more defensive reps this season. Although Coen hardly throws in about a couple of offensive snaps for Hunter, he has been blanketing the recivers week after week, proving why Coen made a smart decision on keeping him mainly on offense.
Hunter and Chase’s faceoff will perhaps be the second biggest storyline in Jaguars vs. Bengals, since Lawrence or Burrow is taking the center stage. Yet, the intrigue surrounding whether Coen gives Hunter more offensive reps will continue in Week 4 as well.
Chances are, he will probably not.
Hunter played 45 defensive snaps and 5 offensive snaps in Week 3 vs. the Patriots, and the trend has been continuing for almost all games this season. He also played a career-high in defensive snaps in Week 3 against the New England Patriots and will be needed in a big way Sunday as the Jaguars try to find some way to slow down Chase.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase Sparks Rivalry with Travis Hunter, Sans Words, Before Jaguars Kickoff