Bengals players, coaches comment on A.J. Green after strange viral video

Cincinnati Bengals players and coaches had plenty to say about A.J. Green.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green had one of the strangest games of his career during Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Green was targeted just once by Joe Burrow, an interception on a pass lofted over his head as a blitz collapsed the pocket. The star wideout, at least given the broadcast angle, then appeared to show little effort in trying to tackle the defender who made the pick. Later, Green was ruled doubtful to return with a seemingly mystery injury.

Then a viral video made the rounds.

A video captured Green on the sidelines talking with somebody and would-be lip-readers decided it was the star wideout suggesting the team trade him.

The video in question:

It’s all conjecture and impossible to know what Green is really saying, of course. But the situation going viral meant Zac Taylor and Bengals players had to field plenty of questions about Green’s approach right now.

“No. A.J. has been nothing but positive,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said after the game when asked.

Taylor also said Green probably couldn’t even see the ball that was intercepted:

“That was going to be tough. It was a zero blitz, we put a ball up there, and sometimes you just have to avoid disaster. That is one to learn from, and I was standing right there, on the line outside of A.J., and I did not think he could make that play. He probably didn’t even know where the ball was, to be quite honest with you, when it went over his head.”

Wideout Tyler Boyd was also asked if Green showed more frustration than usual:

“No, not really. I think we were all frustrated at a point, so it’s kind of hard to pick out individual guys. We were all upset, not about our targets or things like that, [but] because we all want to win. That’s what it all comes down to. We felt that we left a lot out there, and that was the worst performance of the offense that we ever displayed. And I can tell you, that will never happen again.”

Cameras and body language suggest otherwise with Green, but it’s understandable there would be some frustration there.

Green has been targeted 34 times this year and caught just 14 of them for 119 yards. He’s the third-best wideout on the team behind Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins — a rookie — at best after missing most of the preseason with an injury.

The Bengals didn’t make Green available to the media after the loss and it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to not make an appearance all week. But it’s clear things are just getting started on this front.