A.J. Green - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Bengals’ A.J. Green

July 30th, 2019 at 12:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Bengals star A.J. Green underwent a minor ankle procedure on Tuesday morning to clean it out after his injury, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Here’s the good news – his timeline should remain the same as before, so Week 1 is still possible for the wide receiver.

Initially ruled a standard sprain, Green’s injury may cost him regular season time. However, it’s not as scary as it first appeared. Green was carted off of the practice field late last week, creating a scary scene in Cincinnati.

The timing is less than ideal for a number of reasons. Personally, for Green, it comes in the midst of contract negotiations that were on course to put him near the top of the wide receivers list for average yearly compensation. Of course, an injury as minor as this shouldn’t completely derail talks, but it might be a bit of a barrier.

One of the Bengals’ all-time greats, Green ranks second in team annals in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns to Chad Johnson. Among the most productive wideouts since entering the league in 2011, Green earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first seven seasons and has topped 1,000 yards six times.

A.J. Green Expected Out 6-8 Weeks

July 28th, 2019 at 5:28pm CST by Micah Powell

An MRI revealed Bengals star receiver A.J. Green tore ligaments in his ankle on Saturday and is now expected to miss the next six to eight weeks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.

What was originally expected to be just a sprain now is expected to keep the pass-catcher out through the first week of the season. Green injured the ankle at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium and the field conditions were considered to be subpar, according to Shefter [Twitter link].

This is, of course, a bad way to start camp for the Bengals and Green, who missed seven games a year ago and produced career lows in catches and receptions. At the age of 31, Green has been looking to ink a new deal with Cincinnati, but considering he’s missed 13 games in the last three years, the Bengals might not be in any hurry to get something done. Green is signed through 2019 but will become a free agent in 2020.

One of the Bengals all-time greats, Green ranks second in team annals in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns to Chad Johnson. Among the most productive wideouts since entering the league in 2011, Green earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first seven seasons and has topped 1,000 yards six times.

Cincinnati will now focus its attention on the recently re-signed Tyler Boyd, who posted 76 grabs for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018, which led to him signing a four-year deal earlier this week.

AFC Notes: Caserio, Patriots, Green, Bengals, Griffin, Ravens

July 27th, 2019 at 10:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Patriots exec Nick Caserio addressed the media today for the first time since the Texans’ ill-fated attempt to make him their general manager. Caserio dodged most of the questions, but while he outwardly expressed commitment to the Patriots, the press “session did nothing to kill the belief that Caserio isn’t happy with the way things played out,” writes Tom Curran of NBC Sports. “I love being here, and right now we’re focused on trying to get the team ready for this season. I’m happy to be here and I love what I do on a day-to-day basis,” Caserio said when asked if he was disappointed with the way things played out.

If he really is unhappy, fortunately he won’t have to wait too long. Caserio’s contract with the Patriots expires after the 2020 draft, and the Texans are widely expected to make another run at him then. Asked whether he wants to run a team some day, he did his best Bill Belichick impression. “I’m not really focused on the hypotheticals. I’m focused on today. Honestly, I’m focused on trying to be the best version of myself each and every day,” he said. It sounds like the Caserio/Patriots partnership is just waiting to end.

Here’s more from around the AFC on a busy Saturday:

There was a lot of panic earlier today when A.J. Green went down with a lower leg injury and had to be carted off at Bengals practice. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear it’s as bad as it could’ve been. The injury is believed to be an ankle sprain, sources told Albert Breer of SI.com, “but Green will have an MRI to make sure it isn’t something more serious.” The Bengals have already had bad injury luck this offseason, with projected starting left tackle Jonah Williams getting knocked out for the year, and this the last thing they needed. Green was hampered by injuries last year, and limited to nine games due to recurrent toe problems. If the Bengals are going to have any success under first-year coach Zac Taylor, they need Green at 100 percent.
Green wasn’t the only notable AFC North player to go down on Saturday. Ravens backup quarterback Robert Griffin III “has a small fracture in his thumb,” sources told Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll be sidelined for a while, but the team is “still optimistic he’ll be ready for Week One.” Griffin injured his thumb when it banged against a defender’s helmet toward the end of Baltimore’s practice, Zrebiec explained in a separate tweet. Starter Lamar Jackson and rookie Trace McSorley are now the only two healthy quarterbacks on the roster, so the Ravens will likely be adding another passer in the next day or two.
In case you missed it, the Steelers are discussing an extension with cornerback Joe Haden.

AFC North Notes: Bengals, Green, Ravens

July 24th, 2019 at 10:25am CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the AFC North:

Tyler Boyd‘s new extension will impact the ongoing extension talks between the Bengals and A.J. Green, as The Athletic’s Jay Morrison writes. Still, for what it’s worth, director of player personnel Duke Tobin says that they are separate matters. “It’s not an either/or. It’s a both,” Tobin said. “And we’ll see where we can go with the other. We would like to retain both of them, and we will work to do that and see what we can get done as we go here. It’s nice when you are not the only good receiver on a football team, it helps you. Tyler has been great in that he’s really versatile for us, and he can play a number of different positions. They are different-style guys for our game, and they complement each other well. So whether (Boyd’s) No. 1 or No. 2 or whatever, he’s a good football player and he’s been rewarded for that.”
Good news for the Ravens. According to the transactions wire, defensive tackles Michael Pierce and Daylon Mack and outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson have all passed their physicals. This means that they’re off the non-football injury list and available to practice when things get underway on Thursday. It should be noted that their NFI designation was different from the one that would have automatically ruled them out for a portion of the year, but it’s still a promising sign for the defense.
The Browns met with the agent for disgruntled running back Duke Johnson this week.

Extension Candidate: Bengals WR A.J. Green

June 26th, 2019 at 1:32pm CST by Zachary Links

As one of the league’s most feared wide receivers, an extension for A.J. Green should be fairly simple. Unfortunately, after yet another injury-shortened season, the negotiations figure to be a bit complicated.

On the plus side, Bengals owner Mike Brown has indicated that he wants Green to remain in Cincinnati on a new deal.

“Oh, I think he’s a proven commodity, isn’t he?,” Brown said in March. “The price range for him will be something we can figure out, it will come together. It’s true with anyone, if they suddenly get an injury..it reduces them. Well that changes the equation, but I never plan on that happening. I like to think that won’t happen. If A.J. is healthy, he’s as good a receiver as anybody in the league.”

Ditto for Green:

“Cincinnati is home for me,” Green said recently. “I’ve been here nine years. This is home as much as South Carolina. All I know is Cincinnati. I can’t see myself playing anywhere else or playing in a different city. Hopefully I can be here for a couple more years, so we’ll see on that part.”

Will Green have himself a fat new contract before or soon after his 31st birthday in July? That may depend on his willingness to accept a bit of a hometown discount.

Green has missed 13 games due to injury over the past three seasons and the Bengals, historically, have not been big spenders. They’ve also recently extended teammates Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap, so their flexibility is somewhat limited.

Green finished out the 2018 season with just 46 catches for 694 yards and six touchdowns, but when his nine-game season is adjusted for 16 games, those numbers are right in line with his career 75/1,113/8 average. It’s also worth noting that ’18 was only Green’s second season to fall shy of the 1,000-yard mark. The only other time that happened was in 2016, when he came just 36 yards shy, despite playing in just ten games.

Ultimately, a new deal for Green should put him right around Odell Beckham Jr.’s $18MM average annual value, particularly if fellow receivers Julio Jones and Michael Thomas ink their next deals first. Of course, Green’s deal will be shorter in length than OBJs, or, at the very least, have a much lighter load of guarantees beyond Year 2.

For now, Green is set to enter the final season of his four-year, $60MM contract.

North Notes: Green, Bears, Mack, Steelers

June 9th, 2019 at 9:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

A.J. Green is entering the final season of a four-year, $60MM contract. He is also coming off another injury-shortened slate, with a toe malady cutting it short. Bengals owner Mike Brown said earlier this year he would be interested in Green staying in Cincinnati on another deal. Green expressed the same sentiment over the weekend.

“Cincinnati is home for me,” Green said, via FOX 19 in Cincinnati (video link). “I’ve been here nine years. This is home as much as South Carolina. All I know is Cincinnati. I can’t see myself playing anywhere else or playing in a different city. Hopefully I can be here for a couple more years, so we’ll see on that part.”

Green is entering his age-31 season and has missed 13 games over the past three years, but the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver has proven to be one of the best players in Bengals history. The Bengals extended two other cornerstones last year, in Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap, and Brown called the wideout a “proven commodity” earlier this year. No known talks have commenced between Green and Bengals. The receiver also said, via FOX 19, he has been cleared from the toe surgery he underwent in December. It is not certain if he will participate in Cincinnati’s minicamp next week.

Here is the latest from the North divisions:

During the 2018 Khalil Mack pursuit, Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy began calling their Raiders counterparts (Reggie McKenzie and Jon Gruden) about the All-Pro edge defender once training camp began last year. But the Bears’ prevailing thought as of late July 2018 was, in the words of player personnel director Josh Lucas, “What are we doing? They’re not going to trade this guy,” Lucas said (via J.J. Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago). But shortly before Chicago’s final preseason game — which occurred a day after the Aaron Donald extension, and as the Raiders’ patience with Mack was running out — Bears brass were told to submit their best offer. That proposal (a package fronted by two first-round picks and a third-rounder) won out. “I think we had an advantage because they wanted him to get out of the AFC, so being an NFC team, I think we had a pretty good chance,” Lucas said. “I don’t think the Raiders thought we were going to be any good last year, so they wanted our first-round pick. So I think that played a part of it.“
After Adrian Amos and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix started the 2018 season as Bears and Packers safeties, the respective back-line defenders switched cities this year. Clearly on a roll at the Bears100 Celebration this week, Lucas added (via Stankevitz, on Twitter) the Bears consistently graded Clinton-Dix as superior to Amos. Pro Football Focus would disagree with the Bears’ assessment, particularly in 2017 (when the site gave Amos a 90.9 grade and Clinton-Dix a 71.5 mark). The Bears also landed Clinton-Dix for far cheaper (one year, $3MM) than the deal the Packers gave Amos (four years, $36MM), pointing to other teams sharing PFF’s view.
Sean Davis switched agents in advance of his contract year, moving from MBK sports management to Drew Rosenhaus, the safety confirmed (via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Davis said no extension talks have occurred between he and the Steelers and noted the safety market’s 2019 explosion as a reason he may bet on himself this season. “I just felt like I needed a change,” Davis said, via Fittipaldo, of switching from Eugene Lee to Rosenhaus. “Drew is a top agent, man. … The safety market went up this year. That puts a little more pressure on me to get the job done and to compete for those contracts.” After faring better as a free safety than he did at the strong safety spot in 2017, Davis will remain there this season.

Andy Dalton To Be Fully Healthy For Offseason Program

April 14th, 2019 at 3:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bengals are heading into a transitional year. After a very disappointing 2018 season, the Bengals finally moved on from longtime coach Marvin Lewis. To replace him, they hired 35-year-old whizkid Zac Taylor away from the Rams.

Part of the reason 2018 was so disappointing was because of the season-ending injury quarterback Andy Dalton suffered. Fortunately for Cincinnati, Dalton is fully recovered from his thumb surgery and will be a full-go when OTA practices start, according to Geoff Hobson of the team’s official site. There were murmurs earlier this offseason that the team could look to move on from Dalton and go younger at the position, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. That being said, owner Mike Brown made it clear the team wasn’t in a rush to extend him recently.

“I think it’s a good year for (Dalton) to show like he can, like we think he will. After he re-establishes himself we would want to get together with him and see if we can extend it. I think Andy is a good player and that he will rebound off last year. He was hurt. We lost so many other pieces. It fell apart, but if he’s healthy and we stay healthy enough, I have confidence in him,” Brown said, issuing a slightly less than ringing endorsement.

Dalton was having a decent enough season before going down, but unfortunately he hasn’t been anything better than decent the past few years. Even though the team has publicly proclaimed confidence in him, it still wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bengals draft a quarterback early later this month.

The Bengals’ offense completely collapsed once Jeff Driskel took over following the injury, which at least showed the Bengals’ struggles weren’t all about Dalton. He wasn’t the only high profile Bengal to have their season cut short with an injury, as star receiver A.J. Green was limited to just nine games. Green struggled with a toe injury all year and was hurt a lot in 2016 as well, but Brown said at the same time he made his comments on Dalton that the team wanted to extend Green. Hobson writes that he expects the Bengals “to ease Green along” this offseason, whereas Dalton should be a full-go for practices.

If Dalton doesn’t make major strides under Taylor, it’s highly possible if not probable that the team will move on next offseason. One thing that’s helped him stick this far has been his reasonable contract. Dalton has two years left on his deal with a total of $33.5MM owed to him. It’s a pivotal year for Dalton, and the fact that he’ll be fully healthy to begin picking up the new system is a very positive development.

Bengals Open To A.J. Green Extension?

March 28th, 2019 at 9:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals sound open to an extension for wide receiver A.J. Green, as Fletcher Page of The Enquirer writes. However, that’s not the case for quarterback Andy Dalton.

“Oh, I think he’s a proven commodity, isn’t he?,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said. “The price range for him will be something we can figure out, it will come together. It’s true with anyone, if they suddenly get an injury..it reduces them. Well that changes the equation, but I never plan on that happening. I like to think that won’t happen. If A.J. is healthy, he’s as good a receiver as anybody in the league.”

Health, of course, was an issue for Green last year. The perennial Pro Bowler saw his season end in early December, marking the second time in three years that his season ended on IR. Still, Green finished out with 46 catches for 694 yards and six touchdowns in nine games, numbers that put him on pace for his usually strong output across a 16-game season.

Green has one year left on the four-year, $60MM extension he inked with the Bengals in 2015. Since then, he’s watched many other receivers leapfrog him in salary. When it comes to yearly salary, seven WRs rank ahead of Green: Odell Beckham Jr., Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Brandin Cooks, Sammy Watkins, and Jarvis Landry all earn more than Green’s $15MM/year average.

Meanwhile, a new deal for Dalton sounds unlikely to happen anytime soon.

“I think it’s a good year for (Dalton) to show like he can, like we think he will. After he re-establishes himself we would want to get together with him and see if we can extend it,” Brown said when asked about Dalton, who has two years to go on his deal. “I think Andy is a good player and that he will rebound off last year. He was hurt. We lost so many other pieces. It fell apart, but if he’s healthy and we stay healthy enough, I have confidence in him.“

Bengals Place A.J. Green On IR

December 5th, 2018 at 9:49am CST by Zachary Links

It’s official. On Wednesday morning, the Bengals formally placed star wide receiver A.J. Green on injured reserve. To fill his place on the roster, the Bengals activated fifth-round cornerback Davontae Harris from IR.

[RELATED: Latest On Marvin Lewis]

This marks the second time in three seasons that Green has ended a season on IR. Green has been in and out of the Bengals’ lineup all year and the team clearly missed him when he was sidelined for three November games. After starting the season 4-1, the Bengals have dropped to 5-7 and are looking to stop a four-game losing streak without the services of Green or quarterback Andy Dalton.

Green’s nagging toe injury held him back earlier this season and he had to be carted off the field after re-aggravating the malady during Sunday’s loss to the Broncos. His season ends with 46 catches for 694 yards and six touchdowns. The Bengals, meanwhile, are effectively mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Without Green, the Bengals will turn to Tyler Boyd, John Ross, and former UDFA Alex Erickson as their top receivers. They’ll be catching passes from Jeff Driskel as the Bengals wrap up their season against the Chargers, Raiders, Browns, and Steelers. Currently, the Bengals are on course for the No. 13 overall pick in the draft.

A.J. Green To Undergo Surgery

December 3rd, 2018 at 6:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

A.J. Green‘s season is over. The seven-time Pro Bowl Bengals wide receiver will undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his injured toe, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

This procedure will sideline Green for as many as four months, per Schefter. But Green is expected to be ready in time for Bengals OTAs. A procedural IR move will occur; it will mark the second time in three seasons Green will end a season on Cincinnati’s injured list.

After gliding to a 4-1 start, the Bengals have fallen out of AFC contention. Their four-game losing streak can be, in a large part, traced to their best player’s unavailability. Green’s toe injury forced him to miss three November games, and he appeared to re-aggravate the issue during Sunday’s loss to the Broncos. A cart transported Green to the locker room, and that will be the final time fans see Green in uniform in 2018.

A hamstring injury led to Green going on IR late in 2016. He missed three games that season. He’ll end up missing seven this year. Green’s season concludes with 46 receptions, 694 yards and six touchdowns. He is under contract — via the four-year, $60MM deal he signed in 2015 — for one more season.