A.J. Green - Pro Football Rumors

Deadline Looming For A.J. Green, Bengals?

September 11th, 2015 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

Contract negotiations between the Bengals and A.J. Green reportedly intensified this week, with several reports yesterday indicating that the two sides were working hard to reach an agreement. The heightened sense of urgency in the talks appears to be a product of a looming deadline for Green and the Bengals — according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link), the deadline for a new deal is later today, when the team departs for Oakland.

It’s not clear if Green or the Bengals – or both – are pushing to shut down contract discussions if a deal isn’t reached by the end of the day, but the star wideout said earlier in the summer that he’d be willing to play out the final year of his rookie contract, while the team seemed more eager to work something out. If he doesn’t sign a new contract this year, Green would earn $10.176MM, the value of his fifth-year option, in 2015, and then would be a strong candidate for the franchise tag in the winter.

Receivers like Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, and Julio Jones have inked new, long-term contracts in recent months, creating a blueprint for a potential Green extension. However, while Owczarski writes that the Bengals are willing to meet that $14MM+ benchmark in terms of annual salary, the guaranteed money involved in the agreement may be a sticking point. Cincinnati is typically reluctant to give out significant guaranteed money on contract extensions, with even quarterback Andy Dalton getting a modest $17MM guarantee on his new $96MM deal last year.

For his part, Green isn’t saying much about the negotiations, telling Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com (Twitter link) this morning that he doesn’t know whether anything will get done. The fourth overall pick out of Georgia in 2011, Green has made four consecutive Pro Bowls since entering the league. After catching 97 balls in 2012 and 98 in 2013, he was slowed down last year with injuries, finishing with 1,041 yards and six touchdowns on 69 receptions. With the 2015 season about to get underway, the 27-year-old looks healthy and poised for a big year.

A.J. Green, Bengals Pushing For New Deal

September 10th, 2015 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

3:24pm: Despite all the reports suggesting the Bengals and Green are trying hard to reach a compromise, a deal doesn’t appear imminent. A league source tells Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk that while the two sides are talking, they’re not currently close to an agreement. As expected, the main roadblock appears to be the Bengals’ reluctance to guarantee any money beyond the first year of an extension.

1:55pm: With Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, and T.Y. Hilton all set to play on new contracts this year, A.J. Green is the last notable extension candidate at the wide receiver position without a new deal of his own. However, all signs point to the Bengals and Green pushing hard to get something done before the team’s regular season opener.

Coley Harvey of ESPN.com reported this afternoon that talks between the Bengals and Green had “picked up,” with the two sides seemingly moving closer to an agreement. Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) agreed that the “extension rumblings” are picking up for Green, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeting that the two sides are working hard to finalize a new contract.

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) continues to hear that Green’s camp would like to beat Jones’ deal, which would make the Bengals’ star the second-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. However, La Canfora isn’t sure Cincinnati will be willing to budge that far. The team is typically reluctant to give out significant guaranteed money on contract extensions, with even quarterback Andy Dalton getting a modest $17MM guarantee on his new $96MM deal last year. Jones received $35.5MM in guaranteed money on his five-year, $71.25MM extension with the Falcons.

Green, who would play out the season on his $10.176MM fifth-year option if he doesn’t sign a new contract, has made four consecutive Pro Bowls since entering the league as the fourth overall pick out of Georgia in 2011. After catching 97 balls in 2012 and 98 in 2013, Green was slowed down last year with injuries, finishing with 1,041 yards and six touchdowns on 69 receptions. With the 2015 season about to get underway, the 27-year-old looks healthy and poised for a big year.

AFC Notes: Steelers, A.J. Green, Patriots

September 9th, 2015 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re only about 30 hours away from the 2015 NFL regular season getting underway, as the Patriots and Steelers, two AFC teams with plenty of Super Bowl wins under their belts, get set to kick off Thursday night’s action. While we look forward to that game, let’s round up a few items of note from around the AFC….

Given the Steelers‘ long-standing policy of not negotiating contract extension during the season, the team is running out of time to lock up tackle Kelvin Beachum and guard Ramon Foster, says Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The clock is also ticking on A.J. Green and the Bengals, as Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes. The Bengals are typically averse to doing deals with huge guarantees, and most of the top receiving contracts from this offseason have featured plenty of guaranteed money, so it’s possible Green will play out the 2015 season and get the franchise tag in 2016.
The Patriots have sent an application to the NFL to reinstate the two employees that were suspended as a result of the Deflategate investigation, according to an Associated Press report. With Tom Brady‘s suspension lifted, we’ll see if the league follows suit for John Jastremski and Jim McNally, who referred to himself as “the deflator” in text messages.
The two-year cash flow on Nate Solder‘s new extension with the Patriots mimics the pay structure of other recent contracts signed by offensive tackles, writes Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap. Of course, Solder’s extension is only for two years rather than the four or five years that most players sign for. As Fitzgerald observes, the new deal also means that Solder will be eligible for free agency at the same time as Brady.

North Notes: A.J. Green, K. Moore, Broyles

August 30th, 2015 at 12:08pm CST by Rory Parks

Four elite wide receivers–Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones, and A.J. Green–entered this offseason hoping to sign lucrative extensions with their respective clubs. After Jones inked a five-year extension with Atlanta yesterday, Green is the only member of that group still looking for a long-term deal that will guarantee him $40-50MM and allow him to avoid the possibility of the franchise tag next year. Green didn’t have much to say on how the Jones deal will impact him personally, but per Paul Dehner, Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Green just got one step closer to his own big payday from the Bengals.

“We will see,” Green said. “If it happens, it happens. If it don’t I’ll go out there and play. We’ll see. All the receivers are getting bank so we will see if I get there.”

Now for some more links from the league’s north divisions:

In a pair of tweets, Dehner openly wonders how the Bengals will resolve their defensive line situation. At the moment, Cincinnati has 14 defensive linemen on the roster, and Dehner wonders if the team will keep as many as 10–which would be an extraordinarily high number–and if someone like Margus Hunt could get cut. The Bengals could also seek to trade some of their D-line depth.
The Ravens entered training camp looking for someone to step up and seize the return specialist job after the team parted ways with Jacoby Jones this offseason. Asa Jackson has gotten the most opportunities to do so, but as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes, Jackson had an uneven game against Washington last night, returning a kickoff 103 yards to the Washington 2-yard line but also fumbling away a punt he had no business fielding. Head coach John Harbaugh said he still can’t handicap the return man competition.
With injuries to promising young players Breshad Perriman and Michael Campanaro keeping them out of action, Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com writes that the Ravens are still looking for someone to grab the No. 2 receiver spot behind Steve Smith, Sr. Players like Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown have not been especially impressive in the preseason, which probably explains why the team was linked to veteran wideouts last week.
Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune writes that last night’s preseason debacle against Cleveland proves just how thin the Bears‘ roster really is. He notes that the team will be flush with salary cap room after the 2015 season but will have too many holes to fill to rely on free agency. Biggs says the Bears’ only option is to draft their way out of their current predicament, and that it will take two or three strong draft classes to do so.
When the Lions signed quarterback Kellen Moore to a two-year extension this offseason, they hoped he would take another step forward in his development, challenging for and potentially winning the backup quarterback job. Instead, as Justin Rogers of MLive.com writes, Moore has been outplayed by veteran Dan Orlovsky and is now in danger of being cut.
Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes Ryan Broyles is one of the tough cuts the Lions will be forced to make this week.

AFC Notes: Green, Albert, Mathis

August 29th, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With Julio Jones being the latest star receiver to sign a contract extension this summer, joining Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas and T.Y. Hilton, all eyes turn to the Bengals’ A.J. Green. The 27-year-old has been one of the best playmakers in the league since the Bengals took him in the first round of the 2011 draft and is a season away from potentially becoming a free agent.

The deals awarded to Jones, Bryant, Thomas and Hilton (all five-year accords worth $70-plus million with guarantees ranging from $39MM to $47MM) have set the market for Green, according to CBS Sports’ Joel Corry – who tweets that guaranteed money will be a sticking point for the two sides. Corry added in another tweet that the Bengals don’t guarantee base salary in veteran deals, so they might have to compromise by giving Green the biggest signing bonus in franchise history.

Jones’ extension will kick in next season, which means he’ll play 2015 under the same one-year, $10.18MM option as Green. Considering that, Jones’ contract is more relevant to Green than the ones given to Bryant, Thomas and Hilton, per Corry (Twitter link). Green’s numbers compare favorably to those of Jones, who has added 249 catches and 26 touchdowns in 49 regular-season games. Green has been more durable, appearing in 60 regular-season games, and more productive (329 receptions and 35 scores). He also has outpaced Jones in 1,000-yard seasons (four to two) and Pro Bowl nods (again, four to two). Add all of that up and the likelihood is that the Bengals will have to give Green a richer deal than Jones’ in order to keep him.

Here’s more from the AFC:

Dolphins left tackle Branden Albert tore his ACL last season and has been working toward a return since. While it’s unlikely Albert will be ready for Week 1, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald doesn’t rule it out (Twitter link). On the other hand, ESPN’s Adam Caplan tweets that Albert probably won’t return until Week 3.
Broncos guard Evan Mathis – whom the team signed earlier this week – is on track for the opener, Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports (Twitter link).
Denver’s Week 1 opponent, the Ravens, will definitely be without Matt Elam, Brent Urban and Lorenzo Taliaferro, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
In the unlikely event Seattle trades linebacker Bruce Irvin before the season, Ryan O’Halloran doesn’t expect the Jaguars to acquire the three-year veteran. Jags general manager David Caldwell isn’t one to trade picks in the first three rounds, tweeted O’Halloran – who added that Irvin’s contract status (one year before free agency) makes the chances of an acquisition even more remote for Jacksonville.

WR Rumors: Hilton, Jones, Green, Hunter

July 27th, 2015 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that some executives around the league believe that the price tag on Andrew Luck‘s eventual extension could make it tricky for the Colts to commit $12MM or so annually to T.Y. Hilton as well. According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), however, the team is currently engaged in extension discussions with the wideout.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus told Cole that the Colts and Hilton are unlikely to reach any sort of agreement before training camp begins, but Cole appears confident that the two sides could work something out within the next several weeks. He also adds that Hilton is expected to seek upwards of $14MM annually on a new deal.

Hilton is a very productive player, but he’s not the sort of prototypical No. 1 receiver that guys like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas are, so I’d be pretty shocked if the Colts inked him to an extension in that neighborhood. If the two sides do get something done before the season begins, something closer to Randall Cobb‘s four-year, $40MM pact makes more sense to me.

Here are a few more notes on wide receivers from around the league:

Those Bryant and Thomas contracts figure to have more of an impact on A.J. Green and Julio Jones. According to Cole (video link), the Bengals‘ and Falcons‘ stars will look to exceed the $14MM average salaries landed by Bryant and Thomas, and get something in the neighborhood of $15MM per year. Both Green and Jones have missed time with injuries, but that’s not expected to be a huge roadblock in either contract negotiation, says Cole.
Justin Hunter‘s arrest is currently “under review” by the NFL, writes Terry McCormick of 247Sports.com. It will likely be some time before the NFL announces any discipline for the Titans receiver, who was charged with felonious assault for allegedly breaking a man’s jaw in a bar fight.
In search of some wide receiver depth, the Jets worked out former second-round pick Greg Little, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Little, who played three seasons for the Browns, spent most of last season with Cincinnati.

La Canfora On WR Extensions, Colts, JPP, Jets

July 27th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

After addressing a few burning questions on DeflateGate, the Marcus Mariota contract negotiations, and Junior Galette‘s release, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com takes a look around the rest of the NFL, passing along several noteworthy tidbits from all over the league. Let’s dive right in and check out a few of the highlights from La Canfora’s newest piece…

La Canfora expects both Julio Jones and A.J. Green to sign new deals before the 2015 season begins, and estimates that both deals will fall in the range of $13MM per year. I’m guessing that figure takes into account their current $10.176MM salaries for 2015, so the annual average of the new money would be closer to the $14MM per year that Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas received.
Several executives around the league believe that Andrew Luck‘s price tag may end up being so high that it puts the Colts in a bind with T.Y. Hilton. La Canfora thinks Hilton’s extension could come in at close to $12MM per year, and some observers aren’t convinced Indianapolis would go that high.
Jason Pierre-Paul and the Giants will likely come to terms on a one-year contract agreement that features per-game roster bonuses, says La Canfora, adding that New York also hopes to get something out of Will Beatty in the season’s second half.
La Canfora suggests that Muhammad Wilkerson and the Jets should consider working out a short-term extension – perhaps for two or three years – that gives the standout defensive lineman a nice chunk of guaranteed money and buys the team some time to make long-term decisions on Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams. Wilkerson would be “very open” to the idea, per La Canfora.
Some team executives around the league raised an eyebrow at the Steelers‘ big-money extension for Cameron Heyward. However, Pittsburgh likes Heyward more than a lot of clubs do and was willing to take a “calculated gamble” on his upside, writes La Canfora.

AFC North Notes: Rice, Green, Beachum

July 27th, 2015 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

Tony Porter and Ted Bunch – the co-founders of a national organization that encourages men to end violence against women – are among those advocating that former Ravens running back Ray Rice get a second chance in the NFL, writes Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

“We have been around a lot of abusive men, but our experience with Ray has been tremendously positive,” Porter said. “We feel strongly about him having the opportunity of having a second chance. He’s deserving of it.”

While we wait to see if an NFL team takes a flier on Rice this summer, let’s check in on some others notes from out of the AFC North….

We heard yesterday that the Bengals would like to get a new deal done with A.J. Green in 2015, and Coley Harvey of ESPN.com confirms, via a source, that the team is “happy to have that discussion now” with the star wideout. However, the club isn’t sure whether Green wants to get something done right away, or if he prefers to wait until after the season.
On the same day the Steelers extended general manager Kevin Colbert through 2018, we heard that the team had also begun discussing a new deal with left tackle Kelvin Beachum. Beachum tells Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he isn’t concerned about his contract situation, suggesting that he’ll “let the business people take care of the business stuff.” As Fittipaldo observes, if the Steelers decide to extend Beachum and guard David DeCastro, the club would likely have the most expensive offensive line in the NFL.
After signing a new four-year extension with the Steelers this offseason, Ben Roethlisberger may be playing on his final NFL contract, but he’s not ready to consider his long-term future or his legacy quite yet, says Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I treat my legacy the same way [as] when people ask me how much longer I am going to play,” Roethlisberger said. “Do I think about stats and Hall of Fame? No, because that is thinking about the end. If I think about the future, then I am cheating about right now.”

Bengals Want A.J. Green Deal Done In 2015

July 26th, 2015 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

Less than two weeks ago, Bengals receiver A.J. Green told Coley Harvey of ESPN.com that he expected to play out the 2015 season on his current contract, and likely wouldn’t discuss a new deal with the Bengals until at least 2016. However, as of late, Green has sounded a little more optimistic, telling Fox10 that he expects the team to get something done at some point.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Green’s increased optimism regarding a new contract likely stems from the fact that the Bengals have told him he’s their top priority. Rapoport suggests that the club wants to get Green locked up this year, rather than letting the situation drag out.

When Green made his comments earlier this month, Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas remained unsigned, and it wasn’t clear if either of the franchised wideouts would ink a long-term deal this year. Now that both players are under contract on similar five-year, $70MM extensions, there’s an obvious point of reference for Green and the Bengals, which has perhaps increased the club’s motivation to work something out.

Cincinnati will have a number of players eligible for unrestricted free agency next winter, including both of their starting offensive tackles – Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith – along with defensive backs Leon Hall and Reggie Nelson. Signing Green to an extension now would give the Bengals a better idea of how much cap flexibility it has for those other potential free agents when the time comes.

AFC Mailbags: Chiefs, Colts, Jags, Bengals

July 18th, 2015 at 10:48am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. Let’s take a look at some interesting notes from the AFC…

Adam Teicher points to wideouts Reggie Wayne and James Jones as potential targets for the Chiefs. He also adds that offensive lineman Evan Mathis is still available, but notes that coach Andy Reid previously said the team has no interest in the 33-year-old.
Mike Wells says Colts fans shouldn’t be upset or concerned where Reggie Wayne lands, even if it’s with the rival Patriots. The writer refers to New England’s interest in the wideout back in 2012.
The Jaguars could have waited a year and tried to draft Jameis Winston, but Mike DiRocco believes that would have been too much of a risk. The team believed Blake Bortles could be the future of the franchise, so the writer doesn’t blame the front office’s strategy.
Coley Harvey opines that it’d be “hard to justify” the Bengals signing A.J. Green to a Dez Bryant/Demaryius Thomas-type contract. Green has certainly established himself as one of the top wideouts in the league, but Harvey believes the receiver’s injury history may have hurt his value. Ultimately, Harvey thinks both sides will wait to negotiate until after this season, and he’d be shocked if Green received more than $43 million in guaranteed money.
Harvey also believes there is zero chance Jermaine Gresham will be returning to the Bengals next season.