Tag: AJ Green news

Will UGA great A.J. Green be back with the Bengals?

Former UGA receiver A.J. Green’s contract ends soon. Where will the 10-year veteran wind up? Details here.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is set to become a free agent on March 17, which marks the end of a one-year, $18 million franchise tag contract.

The Georgia legend was drafted by the Bengals with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and has had an incredible 10-year career in Cincinnati, especially when you consider the state of the Bengals organization.

Paired with the arm of former TCU quarterback Andy Dalton from 2011-2019, Green caught his way to seven straight Pro Bowls and was named by his peers in the NFL Top 100 each year until 2020, when Green struggled with injuries and the new turnover in Cincinnati.

The Bengals hired head coach Zac Taylor who brought in a new offense and a new quarterback in No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, but even with Burrow heathy for the first half of the season, Green just never looked comfortable with the offense and his injury issues made the gap larger.

ESPN’s Ben Baby quotes Green here after the Bengals loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 14.

“I love my time here,” Green said. “Who knows what is going to happen? I will be ready for anything and be excited to get back to playing football whether it is here or somewhere else.”

Green’s injuries were minor and the 32-year-old still sounds like he has gas in the tank. The question is where to now?

If Green is looking for a title contender, I’d say look now further than the L.A. Rams, who just acquired Green’s college quarterback, UGA great Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions.

Wherever Green winds up, I hope he finally gets a chance to play in a Super Bowl.

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.