Press Conference: Zac Taylor on Ja'Marr Chase vs Jalen Ramsey, Bengals' Losing Streak, Injuries & More

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Zac, any injury updates on Cam Taylor-Britt?

Zac Taylor (0:03)

Yeah, I'd say surgery is likely right now, with Liz Frank injury. So obviously, that'll take him out. Cam Sample, we're still working through. That could be a week-to-week thing for him, with his oblique. Any other, you can ask me about any other guys that aren't hitting my head right now.

SPEAKER_1 (0:19)

Well, I'm trying to think, Shemar, what kind of led to him getting placed on IR, the timing that we did, given the nature of, like, when the injury occurred?

Zac Taylor (0:25)

Well, you had all that time to gather all the information to decide if we thought it was going to be a four-week injury or not, which it is. So we had through the bi-week, if I'm not mistaken, right, and then all the way up to Saturday before. So there was really no reason to do it before then, even though we knew that's where it was trending.

SPEAKER_3 (0:41)

Is Joe Flacco? Okay. I know he was yesterday. Just help us. Yes.

SPEAKER_1 (0:46)

Trey, where is he at this week?

Zac Taylor (0:48)

He's downfall right now.

SPEAKER_4 (0:49)

Okay.

SPEAKER_3 (0:51)

You have a timetable on Trey?

Zac Taylor (0:53)

No, we just keep taking a week to week.

SPEAKER_5 (0:55)

Zac, have you had conversations with Ja'Marr about what happened yesterday in Pittsburgh?

Zac Taylor (0:59)

I have. Yeah, I'll just keep that to myself.

SPEAKER_5 (1:01)

Are you concerned about the image of the organization being really under a lot of criticism nationally and I'm just curious what the conversations are like internally that you have all the time with Mike and Katie and Troy on matters like that?

Zac Taylor (1:18)

Well, first of all, I've always been impressed with how Ja'Marr has handled himself because he is in a lot of these situations where he's got a target as a top player. He gets a lot of respect that way and so guys try to do a lot of things to get his attention and get him off his game and I've always thought it was unbelievable how he's handled himself in some really high-pressure emotional decisions. Obviously what happened is crossing the line we can't have that and I know he'll own up to that but beyond that I've I've always sat up here and praised Ja'Marr because he's he's one of the best leaders we've got the way he goes about everything. He plays with a ton of emotion. He plays with a ton of leadership. Our guys respond to that and and I've always appreciated how he's handled himself.

SPEAKER_5 (2:00)

I guess the reason I ask you is because you're really the only moment to talk to in the organization that can reflect how the organization feels after a really unfortunate, ugly moment like yesterday.

Zac Taylor (2:12)

Yeah.

SPEAKER_5 (2:13)

How do you feel? How do they feel?

Zac Taylor (2:15)

Well, again, I just, Ja'Marr is one of my favorite, I love how this guy handles everything that he's been a part of. So making one mistake doesn't disregard everything this guy's done that's been positive for us. And so, I think that's what you're asking. I really don't know what you're asking me. But again, I can't say enough positive things about Ja'Marr and think about the amount of situations people have tried to put him in, and the way that he's always responded. And we're not all perfect. We're going to make a mistake here and there. But I stand by Ja'Marr, and I know it's an emotional situation. I know there's a lot of things going on there that lead to things like that.

And again, we'll just continue to move forward.

SPEAKER_6 (2:55)

Have you heard from the lead?

Zac Taylor (2:57)

No, I haven't heard anything.

SPEAKER_3 (2:58)

This weekend?

SPEAKER_1 (2:59)

Do you anticipate having Ja'Marr?

Zac Taylor (3:01)

I'm not going to make any. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_1 (3:04)

Is it somewhat disappointing, given how much he had, he went on to be a captain this year, made a lot of strides in how he kind of handled himself, especially with us, maybe on the field, and for him to kind of have this, is this somewhat of a setback?

Zac Taylor (3:14)

No.

SPEAKER_7 (3:15)

No.

Zac Taylor (3:15)

Again, people are allowed to make a mistake. So, that's all I'll say about it.

SPEAKER_7 (3:23)

With Cam out, did Josh step in as a starter, or do you look at your options there, Corey?

Zac Taylor (3:27)

Yeah, we'll keep working through what's our best fit as we go through the week, hard to say on a Monday, but we'll get through practice and see where that lands.