Even though Ja’Marr Chase monitors his progress when it comes to cumulative receiving yards throughout each season, he wasn’t certain of the current 2025 number during his Dec. 4 news conference. He tried to ballpark it.
With a general idea of where he was, Chase guessed: “Nine-seventy-something?”
Close enough. Chase has 971 receiving yards in 2025 ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals‘ Dec. 7 visit to the Buffalo Bills‘ Highmark Stadium.
“I know. I keep track of this one,” Chase said, smiling. “I for sure keep track of this one, though.”
Following his receiving triple crown achievement in 2024, when he led the NFL in receptions, yardage and receiving touchdowns, Chase in 2025 is on track for more history.
With 29 more yards, Chase would become the fifth player in NFL history to notch a thousand yards in each of his first five seasons. He’d join a select list that included the retired Randy Moss, Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, former Bengals receiver A.J. Green and former Louisiana State teammate and Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson is the most recent addition to that list and achieved it in 2024. He’s working on a sixth consecutive year as he currently has 799 yards with five games remaining.
Moss started his career with six consecutive seasons of 1,000 receiving yards. Green was 36 yards short of a sixth consecutive season during the Bengals’ 2016 campaign.
Evans reached 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons to begin his career. It’s an active streak, too, but will more than likely end this year as he’s logged just 140 yards in four games. He suffered multiple injuries in Week 7 that ended up sidelining him for months, and he this week returned to practice.
“I think a thousand yards means a lot to all receivers,” Chase said. “Even in high school, growing up. You always wanted to get a thousand yards, 10 touchdowns. You always want to get to (four) digits, for sure.”
Chase seemed to indicate 1,000 receiving yards was a bare minimum milestone each season for him, and his career numbers back that up. Only in 2022 (1,046 receiving yards) did Chase flirt with not reaching that threshold.
Chase left no doubt of the achievement it in his rookie season of 2021 (1,455 yards), nor did he leave room for concern about it in 2023 (1,216 receiving yards) or 2024 (1,708).
“I want to make sure I get that every year,” Chase said. “That’s me being at least getting something every year that’s possible… I think me setting a standard of getting to a thousand is gonna push me to whatever level I want to be at.”
The final 29 yards Chase needs to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards again won’t come easy at Buffalo, where weather could potentially interfere with the Bengals’ passing attack. The Bills also feature cornerbacks Christian Benford and Tre’Davious White, and this week signed former Philadelphia Eagles corner, Darius “Big Play” Slay.
A return to the field for Tee Higgins (concussion protocol) could help open up the field for Chase to get his usual share of the Bengals offense. Higgins was still in concussion protocol as of Dec. 4, though.