Over the past several weeks, the Cincinnati Bengals have been entwined in a bitter contract dispute with one of their best players. Former All-Pro Wide Receiver Ja’Marr Chase has established himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL and subsequently (and rightfully so) is demanding to be paid like it. That demand has driven a wedge between Chase and this front office as there is a heated discussion regarding exactly how much money he deserves to be paid and until that contract negotiation is ironed out, there is a serious risk that Chase will holdout of the first game of the season.
Luckily for the city of Cincinnati, the organization came up lucky and ended up with their least competitive game of the season on paper in weak one. The New England Patriots have holes all over their roster and will be experiencing some serious growing pains with first time head coach Jerod Mayo serving at the head in Foxboro. New England finished last season 4-13 and given the fact that they drafted a rookie quarterback with thier first round pick (who will likely be on the bench during the week one matchup), very little has changed for the Patriots’ struggling roster.
On top of that, this usually stout defensive front is reeling at the recent losses of two of its best defensive linemen. Edge defender Matthew Judon was abruptly traded to the Atlanta Falcons last month due to his impatience for suffering through a long rebuild and defensive tackle Christian Barmore suffered spontanneous blood clots that have yet to be assessed to see if Barmore’s playing career is still even feasible in the long run. Without these two defenders, the team will be starting veteran defensive tackle Davon Godchaux at the nose tackle position.
