Tag: aj green bengals

Georgia Bulldog great AJ Green returns to Bengals practice

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green suffered a hamstring injury over a week ago and is now returning to the practice field

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green suffered a hamstring injury over a week ago and is now returning to the practice field. Green, a former Georgia Bulldogs, is the No. 1 wide receiver for Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense.

Green’s injury was never considered severe, but it is good to see him back out there. The UGA product missed all of last season with an ankle injury.

A.J. Green has struggled off and on with injuries since the 2015 season. He’s only recorded one season (2017) with over 1,000 receiving yards since 2015.

If Green can stay healthy for Cincinnati, then he should have a great season. A.J. Green and the Bengals offense has a lot of weapons for top pick Joe Burrow.

Running back Joe Mixon and an improved offensive line should take some of the pressure off Joe Burrow. Burrow enters his rookie season after having a record setting season at LSU.

The Joe Burrow to A.J. Green connection could be something special. Burrow showed incredible accuracy, especially for jump balls during his time at LSU. A.J. Green is a man who has won his fair share of jump balls over the years. In fact, Green has 63 receiving touchdowns over his NFL career.

September 12, 2009; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver A.J. Green (8) catches a touchdown pass behind South Carolina Gamecocks cornerback Akeem Auguste (3) at the end of the second quarter at Sanford Stadium. Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

A.J. Green training to maximize the rest of his career

Former Georgia WR A.J. Green has been training hard to maximize the rest of his career after missing all of the 2019 season due to injury.

Former Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green has missed the past 23 of the Cincinnati Bengals’ 24 games due to injuries, but that hasn’t slowed him down off the field one bit.

Green has been involved in some intense offseason training routines, trying to prove to the football world he is still one of the leagues top receivers in the game.  Green’s longtime trainer, 61-year-old former body builder Curtis Winters, says Green’s ankle is healthy as ever.  Green has been training with Winters since entering the NFL, making the trips to an Atlanta strip mall that is home to Winters’ “‘80’s-style gym” between a laundromat and a dollar store, Ben Baby of ESPN reported.

“Even though I don’t think he has anything to prove, I think he wanted to prove to everybody he is the person they thought he was originally,” Winters said.

Green has ranked fourth in receiving yards since entering the league in 2011 through 2018.  The question now is whether Green can stay healthy or not.

The Bengals did not offer Green a long-term deal due to injury concerns.  Instead they opted to use the franchise tag and evaluate Green after the 2020 season.  He will make $18.2 million this year.

“Within a few weeks, I realized his ankle was as strong as it’s ever been,” said Winters.

Green has been working on his injury prevention as well as training.  Green has suffered toe and ankle injuries that have kept him on the sidelines the past two seasons.  He and Reza Hesam, a former Georgia acquaintance who co-founded Adapt Physical Therapy, which focuses on injury prevention, have been working on Green’s landing after going up for balls. Hesam has stated that they worked on Green’s body control as well as landing.

“We did more stuff in testing those ankles, strengthen those ankles, strengthen these toes, learning how to land better,” Green said on July 17th. “Just little things like that I didn’t do in previous years.”

Green could be set for a massive 2020 comeback.  He will have a new quarterback passing to him in Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, which will be an exciting duo to watch.

Green is 32 and is likely to have four more years of solid football in front of him.  Should he return to his former self, the Bengals could potentially be scary for the rest of the league this year, coming off a 2-14 season.

“I’m tired of seeing everything — ‘A.J. should be a top-10 if he would’ve played,'” Green said. “All right, let’s get the season started and we can get this thing settled.”

A.J. Green expected to sign franchise tag with Bengals

Former Georgia football WR A.J. Green is expected to sign his franchise tag and play with the Cincinnati Bengals this upcoming season.

Former Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green is apparently expected to sign and play under the franchise tag with the Cincinnati Bengals this upcoming season.

Green has spent the past nine seasons, the entirety of his NFL career, with the Bengals.  He suffered an ankle injury in training camp last season that lingered throughout the year, causing him to miss all of 2019.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said Green is expected to sign the franchise tag on SportsCenter this Saturday:

“He has not signed the tag. I’ve talked to some sources involved. They don’t know either if he’s going to or if a long-term deal is going to get done. They don’t sound overly optimistic in Cincinnati that their best pass-catcher will be locked up long-term. They expect that he’ll play this year under the tag. It’s sort of a feeling-out period for both parties because Green practiced all but five minutes last year with various injuries, including a foot issue, and so they still consider him one of the best wide receivers when healthy. They know he’s ready to go right now and finally healed up, so maybe a one-year pact is best for both parties.”

Green has expressed his interest in leaving Cincinnati, the team not reaching the playoffs since 2015.

It seems the two sides aren’t ready to commit to a long term deal quite yet, but the franchise tag will give Green options following the 2020 season while also allowing the Bengals to get a good evaluation of his health and ability entering his 10th year in the league, without letting him go for nothing.

The Bengals have a deadline of July 15th to offer Green a long-term deal, otherwise he will have the franchise tag option at $17.865 million for 2020.

There is definitely some hype coming into Cincinnati following their draft choice of Heisman Trophy and CFP National Championship winner Joe Burrow of LSU.  Burrow completed 76.3 percent of his passes for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in the 2019-20 season, setting a number of college football passing records.

The question marks are there regarding Green’s health, but let’s not downplay his skills and talent seen over the years.  Green was named a Pro Bowler in his first seven seasons in the NFL, going for 1,000 yards in six of those seasons.

Entering the NFL as a rookie quarterback is always a challenge, but having a veteran receiver such as A.J. Green as an option for Burrow couldn’t hurt the Bengal’s hopes of rebuilding their franchise, coming off a 2-14 season.

Right now, it seems like the best option for both parties is the franchise tag, which Green is expected to sign soon.

Pre-NFL Draft: where did Georgia Bulldogs land in Free Agency?

NFL Free Agency has been underway for over a month this off-season.  Georgia Bulldogs are headlining some of the league’s intriguing moves.

NFL Free Agency has been underway for over a month this off-season.  Georgia Bulldogs are headlining some of the league’s most intriguing moves.

In a surprising decision, the Los Angeles Rams have released Todd Gurley. Gurley has signed a one-year $5-million deal with Atlanta Falcons. He was the engine of Los Angeles’s Super Bowl offense in 2018. It’s a dream come true for Falcons and Georgia fans.

Oct 20, 2019; Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley catches a touchdown pass in front of Atlanta Falcons defensive end Vic Beasley. Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears have released outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. Floyd signed a one year deal with the Los Angeles Rams. Chicago originally selected Floyd with a first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

New York Jets outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins is returning to the Jets on a one-year $5M prove-it deal. He was New York’s sack leader in 2019.

The Cincinnati Bengals placed a franchise tag on wide receiver A.J. Green. It prevented Green from entering NFL Free Agency. Will he sign the tag with Cincinnati and pair up with projected number one overall pick Joe Burrow or hold out?

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

New England Patriots should target former Georgia football WR this offseason

Why the New England Patriots should target former Georgia football WR AJ Green this offseason.

The New England Patriots are in big need of an elite wide receiver, and a former Bulldog could be the answer to their problems.

The Patriots at one point had Julian Edelman, Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon on the roster. However, Gordon and Brown did not work out, leaving Edelman as the only elite receiver on the depth chart. Edelman was his usual reliable self until injuries slowed him down and forced him to undergo shoulder surgery at the end of the season.

With that in mind, former Georgia wide receiver AJ Green would be a great fit in New England’s offense if he is not franchise tagged by the Cincinnati Bengals. On the topic of being franchise tagged, that is not what Green wants. He will take the money and play if tagged, but he thinks it sends the wrong message.

“The franchise tag is not the best thing,” Green told Elise Jesse of WLWT in Cincinnati. “But like I said, I’m not turning down $18 million.”

Green wants to remain with the Bengals, but a one year tag does not excite him like a multi-year contract would.

Green has spent his entire career with the Bengals, and the 31 year old has earned a spot in the Pro Bowl seven times. There is risk involved with Green, though – he’s played in just 35 of a possible 64 games since 2015.

But when he’s healthy, there’s no denying he is one of the league’s top talents at the receiver position.

Green and the Patriots would be a match made in heaven. Bill Belichick runs a tight shift, likes his players to remain out of the spotlight and enjoys keeping a low profile. That describes Green – one of the most humble players in the league, someone who is rather inactive on social media and a guy who performs at a high level without added drama.

After what the Patriots went through with Gordon and Brown, they’d be thrilled to add a no-drama player like Green.

Tom Brady is a free agent for the first time in nearly two decades, and in order to keep him around owner Robert Kraft will be more inclined to make a move to get more playmakers around his aging quarterback.

New England currently has $42m in cap space, and a large chunk of that would go to Brady. But Kraft knows that if he wants to get Brady another Super Bowl, he will have to make some moves to add an elite wide receiver.

AJ Green, David Andrews and Sony Michel all on the same offense? Yes please.