:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67316869/1193933904.jpg.0.jpg)
Ja’Marr Chase has played his last down for the LSU Tigers.
The 2019 Biletnikoff Award winning wide receiver will not be playing in the upcoming 2020 season. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports had the report first of Chase’s decision to opt out on Sunday morning:
@Real10jayy__ has opted out at LSU. The nation's best receiver set @SEC records for touchdown catches and yards. Nothing to do with COVID-19. Rather, LSU types are upset he was influenced by agents. https://t.co/xLGUNcowHc
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) August 30, 2020
According to the report from Dodd, it’s expected that a formal announcement on Chase’s decision to not play in the upcoming season on Monday. He will be declaring for the NFL Draft next year, where he’s expected to be a Top 10 if not a Top 5 NFL Draft pick.
Furthermore, according to the report, the opt out “is not specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, it’s believed agents may have simply convinced Chase to leave before his third collegiate season.”
Obviously, LSU will have a huge gap to fill given that Chase, along with Justin Jefferson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Thaddeus Moss — the Tigers’ Top 4 in receptions and four of the Top 5 in receiving yards from a season ago — will all not be suiting up in 2020. Terrace Marshall Jr. is the leader in receptions and yards from a season ago now, and he and others will be poised to step up in their absence.