A.J. Green - Pro Football Rumors

AFC North Notes: Browns, Hoyer, Zuttah, Green

October 13th, 2014 at 6:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The AFC North was just one of several divisions that saw a star player go down in Week 6, as Browns center Alex Mack suffered a broken fibula and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Let’s take a look at more out of Cleveland and the rest of the division, which as Bill Barnwell of Grantland writes, has the best record in out-of-division contests so far in 2014:

We learned earlier today that usual right guard John Greco will slide over to man center for the Browns in Mack’s absence, but as Tony Grossi of ESPN.com writes, his shift will create a void at RG. Paul McQuistan played there on Sunday, but Cleveland might prefer to leave him in his reserve, swing tackle role. Head coach Mike Pettine allowed that second-year lineman Vinston Painter is a candidate to start at right guard.
In a video for Bleacher Report, Jason Cole speculates that Brian Hoyer may not want to sign an extension with the Browns unless Johnny Manziel is no longer on the team. Cleveland could opt to place the franchise tag on Hoyer in 2015, says Cole, and look to rid themselves of Manziel, presumably through trade.
Ravens center Jeremy Zuttah played for the Buccaneers for six years before he was traded to Baltimore during the offseason, and he admits that playing against his former team on Sunday brought up some complicated emotions. “There was a time when I was bitter,” Zuttah told Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “Once I got to Baltimore, that was out the window. I’m just happy to be a part of this organization.”
A.J. Green was inactive for the Bengals yesterday while dealing with a toe injury, but head coach Marvin Lewis isn’t ruling out Green returning for next week’s game against the Colts, according to Richard Skinner of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Meanwhile, fellow receiver Marvin Jones still hasn’t shown any progress while attempting to recover from an ankle ailment.

Major Injuries: Week 2

September 14th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Rory Parks

Here at Pro Football Rumors, we tend to stay away from injury news and report instead on issues concerning player movement, transactions, etc. However, when there is a major injury to a star player, the potential roster impacts of such an injury are readily apparent. As such, we will update this post with those injuries from Week 2 that could significantly alter a team’s personnel decisions going forward.

Chiefs‘ star players Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry were both ruled out of today’s 24-17 loss to the Broncos (via Twitter). Head coach Andy Reid said both players had suffered ankle injuries, reports Field Yates of ESPN (via Twitter). Charles will have an MRI tomorrow to test the seriousness of his injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Earlier, we saw that Bengals‘ receiver A.J. Green went down with a toe injury. Green said after the game that his toe is not broken and that he hopes to play next week, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter). Pro Football Talk reports that a league source believes Green should Dr. Anderson in Charlotte to rule out a Lisfranc injury (via Twitter).
Chargers‘ running back Ryan Mathews suffered a sprained MCL in the team’s impressive 30-21 victory over the Seahawks, reports Michael Gehlken of the U-T San Diego. He will undergo further tests to see the extent of the injury.
The Rams‘ versatile playmaker Tavon Austin exited today’s 19-17 win over the Buccaneers with a knee injury, reports Nick Wagoner of ESPN (via Twitter). The extend of the injury is unknown, and Austin will have more tests tomorrow.
Buccaneers‘ defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was also injured in that game, reportedly breaking his hand, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). It has yet to be determined whether or not McCoy will be able to play through the injury.
Bears‘ star cornerback Charles Tillman left the Sunday Night Football game with a triceps injury, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune notes that it was a right biceps injury just like this one that forced Tillman to miss a huge chunk of the 2013 campaign (via Twitter).
Giants‘ cornerback Walter Thurmond suffered what is thought to be a strained pectoral muscle in the team’s 25-14 loss to the Cardinals, reports Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Post (via Twitter). He will receive an MRI tomorrow to confirm.
Another key piece to the Giants‘ defense, Jon Beason, suffered a toe injury, according to Vacchiano (via Twitter). Vacchiano notes that the team is worried considering a toe injury on the same foot caused him to miss nearly the entire offseason.

Earlier Updates

Dolphins RB Knowshon Moreno has suffered a dislocated elbow and is expected to miss four to eight weeks, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
We learned earlier today that Griffin suffered a dislocated ankle and could miss the remainder of the season, depending on the severity of the injury.
Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered an injury to his left ankle, and Washington receiver DeSean Jackson injured his shoulder in today’s game against the Jaguars. The team announced (Twitter links) that neither player will return to the game.
Meanwhile, Bengals receiver A.J. Green suffered a toe injury in today’s game against the Falcons and will not return, tweets Coley Harvey of ESPN.com.

AFC North Notes: Rice, Green, Gilbert

September 12th, 2014 at 1:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ray Rice incident continues to dominate both the front page and the back page of newspapers around the country. Yesterday, we rounded up the latest news on the embattled ex-Ravens running back and the controversy surrounding commissioner Roger Goodell. Here’s a bit more on Rice and other news out of the AFC North..

The NFL has informed Rice and the NFLPA that it increased his suspension because the new video showed a “starkly different” sequence of events than the version he presented to the league, writes Jane McManus of ESPN.com. “This video shows a starkly different sequence of events from what you and your representatives stated when we met on June 16,” Goodell wrote, “and is important new information that warrants reconsideration of the discipline imposed on you in July.” Meanwhile, other reports have indicated that Rice did not distort the events in his meetings with the Ravens and the NFL.
Sunday’s matchup of the Bengals and Falcons feels like it’s just as much about A.J. Green versus Julio Jones. The two wide receivers are eyeing their next contract and NFL front office execs tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter that each deal will be based on cornerback Patrick Peterson‘s pact with the Cardinals. That means that they’re both looking at the possibility of $14MM per season and maybe more with an increased salary cap.
Browns rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert has a target on his back and the club expects him to rise above it, writes Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. “When you’re a top 10 pick — I went through this my rookie year as the No. 8 pick — expectations are so high to have one or two balls caught on you is really unacceptable,” Whitner said. “To give up almost 100, you know, really, you know we don’t think it’s acceptable. He understands that. He has to work on getting better.”

A.J. Green Extension Not Expected Soon

August 5th, 2014 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

As we noted in this morning’s roundup of leftover items from Andy Dalton‘s new contract extension with the Bengals, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reported yesterday that A.J. Green received a text from head coach Marvin Lewis following Dalton’s signing, encouraging him to tell his agent to accelerate contract talks with the team. However, in spite of Lewis’ urging, Green isn’t expected to sign an extension anytime soon, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

It’s not clear whether Green or the Bengals are resisting serious talks at this point, or if there’s just a major disparity in their desired price tags. While Dalton had been heading into a contract year, his favorite target remains under team control through 2015 thanks to a fifth-year option, which will pay Green a little over $10MM in ’15 if no alternate agreement is reached. That means there’s no urgency at this point for either side to get something done, as the star wideout observed last month.

“I think I’m on the backburner just because of the option.” Green said. “That’s fine with me. I don’t even look at it like that. I just go out there and play and my time will come. … It’s not surprising. Teams always want to wait. I’m fine with my option and my $10MM. I’ll take it.”

Since being drafted fourth overall in 2011, Green has developed into one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers. 2013, Green’s third straight Pro Bowl season, was arguably his best year yet, as the 25-year-old established or matched career-highs in receptions (98), receiving yards (1,426), and touchdowns (11).

Andy Dalton Leftovers: Negotiations, Fallout

August 5th, 2014 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Head coach Marvin Lewis said yesterday that he and the Bengals “never wavered” on making Andy Dalton the team’s long-term quarterback, according to Peter King of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, as Coley Harvey of ESPN.com tweets, Bengals owner Mike Smith said at yesterday’s press conference that his daughter, Katie Blackburn, negotiated the quarterback’s deal. Smith has been Cincinnati’s de facto GM for some time, but he has recently let Lewis and Blackburn handle more of the football decisions.

Here are a few more links relating to the fallout of the Dalton deal, including how it could affect other quarterbacks who are extension candidates:

In an extended piece on the Dalton contract at TheMMQB.com, King praises the deal for being team-friendly, allowing the Bengals to evaluate their quarterback for the next two or three years — if he doesn’t eventually achieve playoff success, the club can get out of the pact fairly cheaply and draft a new QB in 2016 or 2017.
King also notes that the pressure is on new Cincinnati offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to max out Dalton’s potential. If Dalton has success under Jackson, it could result in the former Raiders coach getting another opportunity at a head coaching job.
After Dalton signed, Lewis texted A.J. Green encouraging him to tell his agent to get extension talks going with the club, tweets King, adding that the Bengals head coach wants to get the team’s core secured.
While Dalton was eligible for free agency following the 2014 season, Carolina has Cam Newton locked up through 2015, so Dalton’s extension doesn’t mean the Panthers will push to get anything done with their quarterback, writes David Newton of ESPN.com. However, the ESPN scribe wonders if the recent deals for Dalton and Colin Kaepernick will help provide the parameters for Newton’s second contract.
Alex Smith, on the other hand, is heading into 2014 on an expiring contract, but Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star doesn’t think Dalton’s deal means a lot for the Chiefs‘ signal-caller. As Mellinger observes, agent Tom Condon isn’t likely to let Kansas City lock up Smith at an overly team-friendly rate — in Mellinger’s view, if the Chiefs try to use the Dalton/Kaepernick framework in negotiations with Smith, it may actually hold up negotiations.

Bengals Rumors: Dalton, Green, Burfict

July 31st, 2014 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

Marvin Lewis‘ 2013 offensive and defensive coordinators are both now running teams of their own, with Jay Gruden having departed for Washington and Mike Zimmer coaching the Vikings. But Lewis and the Bengals have plenty of confidence that installing a pair of new coordinators this season won’t have an adverse effect on the club, as the head coach tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

“The timing of when Jay and Mike were offered head coaching positions and they accepted, it couldn’t have played any better for me and made it a much easier transition without much angst, which was good,” Lewis said. “And it was good for our players as well knowing they could continue on with people who knew them. … We are able to come in and pick up where we left off.”

In addition to exploring the integration of Hue Jackson and Paul Guenther into their new roles on the Bengals’ coaching staff, La Canfora also explores a number of other topics of note after his visit to Cincinnati’s training camp. Let’s round up the highlights….

La Canfora doesn’t expect a contract agreement between Andy Dalton and the Bengals before the season gets underway, and it’s unlikely that the two sides would continue negotiations during the season. According to La Canfora, there hasn’t been any progress or movement lately, and it doesn’t seem as if Dalton’s camp is interested in a short-term bridge deal or a long-term deal without much money up front (a la Colin Kaepernick‘s extension).
The door has been opened for 2011 first-rounders to sign contract extensions after Patrick Peterson and Tyron Smith inked new deals this week, and La Canfora wouldn’t be surprised if A.J. Green ultimately landed an extension before Dalton. For now, the Bengals have the star wideout locked up through 2015 after exercising his fifth-year option, but the team will want to keep him around long-term.
The Bengals also continue to work on a new deal for linebacker Vontaze Burfict, with the goal of getting something done before the season gets underway, says La Canfora.
Mohamed Sanu could be a beneficiary of Andrew Hawkins‘ free agent departure to Cleveland, according to La Canfora, who says Sanu is “generating a strong buzz” in camp.

North Notes: Green, Browns, Ike, Rudolph

July 30th, 2014 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

As August approaches, and preseason NFL action nears, let’s round up the latest from out of the league’s two North divisions….

In the wake of Patrick Peterson‘s new five-year contract extension, Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer explores what sort of effect – if any – Peterson’s deal will have on contract talks for fellow 2011 first-rounder A.J. Green. As Dehner writes, the Bengals wideout will likely be less affected by Peterson’s extension than by contracts potentially signed by receivers Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant, who are both eligible for free agency in 2015.
Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com believes that a “perfect storm of events,” including Roger Goodell being under fire for his lenient suspension of Ray Rice, could result in Josh Gordon‘s potential one-year suspension being reduced.
Former UAB offensive tackle Kaycee Ike, who was signed and then waived by the Steelers after he went undrafted this year, is working out for the Browns today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap provides the full breakdown of Kyle Rudolph‘s new contract with the Vikings. The deal includes annual per-game roster bonuses of up to $250K and workout bonuses worth $100K, starting in 2015.

A.J. Green Discusses Extension, Andy Dalton

July 17th, 2014 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

While A.J. Green figures to eventually enter negotiations with the Bengals on a long-term deal, the fifth-year option for first-round picks ensures that it isn’t necessarily an immediate concern for the club. Having exercised Green’s option earlier this offseason, the Bengals locked up the star wideout through the 2015 season, meaning extension discussions may not heat up for another year or more.

As Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com details, Green acknowledged that the potential wait won’t bother him, and the receiver also discussed a potential extension for the guy throwing him the football, quarterback Andy Dalton. Here are the notable quotes from Green:

On Dalton and a possible new contract for the QB:

“We came in together. That’s my guy. He helped me where I am. I helped him and we took the Bengals to a different level. The Bengals were losing a lot before we came. I feel like we turned it around. … I know they know he’s the guy…I feel like they’re going to get something done before the season starts.”

On Dalton’s regular-season success and lack thereof in the postseason:

“A lot of people give him crap about not winning a playoff game, but we’ve made the playoffs the last three seasons. We’ve won 10 or more games (twice). Playoff games…we’re still young. I feel like we’re going to win them, it just takes time.”

On Green’s own contract:

“I think I’m on the backburner just because of the option. That’s fine with me. I don’t even look at it like that. I just go out there and play and my time will come. … It’s not surprising. Teams always want to wait. I’m fine with my option and my $10MM. I’ll take it.”

Bengals Notes: Dalton, Burfict, Green, Bernard

June 8th, 2014 at 3:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

In the wake of Colin Kaepernick‘s extension, it’s going to be tough for the Bengals to offer Andy Dalton anything less than $18MM annually, writes Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Dalton (whom I recently profiled as an extension candidate) would probably need to indicate that he is amendable to a team-friendly structure that would not overwhelmingly restrict Cincinnati’s salary cap space. Former agent Joel Corry believes that Dalton could accept a contract similar to Kaepernick’s, provided that the AAV is similar. “There’s got to be some sort of interplay,” says Corry. “The better the structure, the more flexibility I had on dollars because you can’t have your cake and eat it, too, particularly when you are under contract for years.”

More notes from Cincinnati:

Within the same piece, Dehner Jr. observes that Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict would have to accept a heavy discount in order to sign an extension now, as Cincinnati controls his rights in 2014 for a mere $570K, and can slap a first-round tender on him in 2015, holding him as a restricted free agent for about $3.3MM.
Dehner Jr. also believes the Bengals are closely watching for negotiations between the Dez Bryant and the Cowboys, as a deal between the two sides could serve as a baseline for talks with receiver A.J. Green, whom the Bengals control for two more seasons.
Second-year running back Giovani Bernard is expected to open the 2014 season as the Bengals starter, and he hopes to produce more big plays on offense, per Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. “If you’re a running back, you always want to be able to have explosive runs,” said the 2013 second-rounder. “Maybe not so much just the 10-yard runs or 15-yard runs or the 20. I want to be able to break the 50s, 60s and 70s. And who knows? Maybe the 80s and 90s. Things like that take hard work and dedication. That’s really where your skills come into play is on those explosive runs.”
In his latest mailbag, Harvey notes that linebacker Emmanuel Lamur, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, will be relied on in 2014, and will especially aid in coverage, an area where the Bengals struggled in 2013. Lamur is expected to serve as the starting strong-side linebacker next season.

Bengals Pick Up Option On A.J. Green

April 21st, 2014 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bengals have officially exercised their fifth-year option for 2015 on A.J. Green, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter). The move will ensure that Green is locked up for the ’15 season at a cost of $10.176MM.

Since being drafted fourth overall in 2011, Green has developed into one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers. 2013, Green’s third straight Pro Bowl season, was arguably his best year yet, as the 25-year-old established or matched career-highs in receptions (98), receiving yards (1,426), and touchdowns (11).

While the Bengals are believed to be engaged in discussions with Green’s camp about a long-term deal, the receiver indicated earlier today that he isn’t concerned with his contract situation at the moment.

“I don’t pay attention to that stuff,” Green said. “I’m still under contract. Like I say, my body of work speaks for itself. Whenever the time’s right, it’s right. That’s one thing I don’t get involved with. I just go out there and play the game and whatever happens, happens.”