In the fourth quarter of the Bengals Week 2 game at the Kansas City Chiefs last season, Ja’Marr Chase was called for a crucial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after getting into an argument with referee Alex Kemp.

Chase had just four receptions for 35 yards in that game, a week after he had just six receptions for 62 yards in Week 1 against the New England Patriots.

Those two games came after Chase and the Bengals couldn’t reach a deal on a contract extension. The failed negotiations dominated headlines throughout Training Camp, and Chase could have been distracted going into the regular season after holding in during Training Camp. Perhaps his frustration boiled over in Kansas City when he was flagged for that unsportsmanlike conduct.

But the great thing is that this season won’t have any distractions during training camp and in the first two games of the regular season. Chase is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, and Tee Higgins also got a contract extension at the exact same time Chase did.

Chase’s trainer, director of Pro and Elite Sports Mo Wells, has noticed positive effects with the NFL’s reigning Triple Crown wide receiver since he signed his record-breaking deal earlier this month.

“He’s happy. You can tell that. He’s always the same. He never changes. But he’s happy.” Wells told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “He’s really the same from a personality standpoint. But now that pressure is off him getting that deal done. Now his shoulders can drop a little bit and just really focus on his training and playing ball.”

When the Bengals drafted Chase fifth overall in 2021, he came in with high expectations for himself. Call him cocky, but Chase is already highly accomplished. In addition to being just the sixth wide receiver to win the NFL’s Receiving Triple Crown since 1970, Chase is already a four-time Pro Bowler and was a First-Team All-Pro wide receiver last year.

Chase was the NFL’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, and he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2019 while playing for LSU’s National Championship Team.

Can Chase possibly have a better 2025 season? Given what he’s done, why would Bengals fans, and Chase himself, think otherwise?