Several extension-eligible receivers are skipping out on OTAs as they try to exert their leverage for new deals. To no surprise, that list includes Ja’Marr Chase, Adam La Rose of Pro Football Rumors reports.

The Bengals opened their organized team activities on Tuesday, and ESPN’s Ben Baby notes Chase was among the players not in attendance. The three-time Pro Bowler is in his first year of being eligible for an extension, though he is on the books through 2025 with his fifth-year option having been picked up. As a result, Chase is on track to collect $21.82 million next year.

His annual earnings on a multi-year pact will of course be much higher. Chase, along with the likes of Justin Jefferson (Vikings) and CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys) is a candidate to reach the top of the receiver market on his next pact. Amon-Ra St. Brown and A.J. Brown‘s respective extension pushed that mark past $30 million per season; Brown’s AAV sits at $32 million.

As expected, fellow Bengals wideout Tee Higgins has not yet signed his franchise tag. As a result, he is not eligible to take part in the team’s OTAs. Higgins remains in Cincinnati’s long-term plans, but keeping him in the fold would require a lucrative commitment in addition to the one forthcoming for Chase and the one made last offseason to quarterback Joe Burrow. The latter has resumed throwing, but he will work with a notably different array of receivers this spring if Chase and Higgins remain absent.

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