Ja'Marr Chase proves he's very serious about becoming the exception to the Bengals' rules

It seemed as if Zac Taylor and Ja'Marr Chase had a plan . Now it's clear the two deviated from one another at some point.

A day after Chase practiced for a second consecutive day and Taylor telling media members that he'd be practicing going forward, Chase made a statement without even saying anything by showing up to Wednesday's practice late in street clothes.

Chase has not said a word publicly since he began his " hold-in " at the start of training camp. He doesn't have to with scenes like that.

He's at practice, he even dressed for a couple, but the task at hand isn't accomplished. He wants a long-term extension.

His head coach obviously knows this, but still made it public that the three-time Pro Bowler would practice and play Week 1. He had to roll both things back after Chase showed up as a non-participant.

“I think I probably put my foot in my mouth and this is a day-to-day situation,” Taylor said after practice . “Every day is a new day. We’ll keep working through it. I’m not going to make predictions on what tomorrow brings."

Why did this all happen? The disconnect feels obvious.

Ja'Marr Chase undoubtedly made his case known

Chase has been silent throughout the process. The Bengals' front office brass hasn't said anything since before the hold-in began, and it involved the words " bend over backwards " to eventually sign their star wideout.

Eventually, but maybe not right now.

The only figure forced to comment on the situation is the head coach, and when Taylor was pressed about Chase practicing and therefore playing, he spoke for his player very bluntly.

Clearly, Chase didn't take kindly to that. But that's what can happen when only one party speaks on the subject!

Showing up late to practice and then just watching a day after your coach announced you'd be practicing is a clear message, one that reads: "This isn't over." Chase wants an extension, and his latest actions are an attempt to accelerate the process.

Chase has been an onlooker for almost every Bengals practice since late July, but never once did Taylor announce what Chase would do in terms of participation until earlier this week. When the coach says a player will practice and then said player doesn't practice, it's noted.

It's also the best way Chase can get what he wants.

While hold-ins and holdouts can look messy from the outside, they do spur results. CeeDee Lamb wasn't even present for any Dallas Cowboys training camp practices and it got him the four-year, $136 million bag he was pushing for.

Elite wide receivers have leverage, and Chase has it in spades. Even if the Bengals have him under contract for two more years and can financially penalize him for missing games on his rookie contract, he's one of the two most important players on the team. Cincinnati's Super Bowl hopes depend on his availability, and the only way he can force the ownership's hand is to exercise his leverage.

Making the coach look bad is a start.

This leaves us at an interesting crossroads. The Bengals are notoriously stubborn negotiators and don't budge to player grievances of any kind. Jonah Williams, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson all made trade requests just in the last two years. All of them were eventually withdrawn.

There's also the timing aspect to all of this. The Bengals don't extend first round picks outside of quarterbacks after just three years. It's a precedent they'd like to keep.

But Chase might be an exception to both, or at least he seems willing to find out. They are planning on paying him at some point as they can't afford to let him walk (how's that for irony?). Chase knows this, and despite the likelihood of signing an even larger deal in 12 months due to cap inflation, the security of payment now is evidently more important.

Admittedly, the Bengals' intentions and decisions from an organizational level have become harder to predict in recent years. But the safe bet whenever a player dispute arises is to place it on ownership.

We just haven't seen a player as good as Chase be the one taking on the club in a long time. It will make for an interesting final week before the season.

Related: Be mindful of the Cincinnati Bengals' private business style regarding Ja'Marr Chase extension rumors