Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

A.J. Green‘s season is officially over. On Monday, the Bengals placed the wide receiver on injured reserve. 

Green, at one point, was hoping to take the field before the end of the 2019 season. But, with little to play for, the Bengals have opted against trotting Green out in the season finale against the Browns.

With that, Green’s campaign will end without a single snap. In theory, this could also mark the end of his Bengals career. The star receiver is set for free agency in March, though the Bengals could work out an extension with him, or cuff him with the franchise tag.

Green, of course, does not want to be tagged, but he also says he won’t hold out if the Bengals go that route.

“I have no problem with the franchise (tag). I don’t like it, but I’m not a guy that’s going to sit out the whole year,” Green said. “But at the end of the day, that shows me they’re not committed to me. That’s fine. They have a business they have to run. As the player I have my own business, so if you do that I have to protect myself.”

“If you’re not committed to me long-term, I understand. There are no hard feelings. You have a business to run. All great businesses face difficult decisions. I understand that. For me, I have to make a big decision as well.”

To date, Green has 602 catches for 8,907 yards and 63 touchdowns, all with the Bengals. He still has his eye on a handful of remaining franchise records, including Chad Johnson’s watermarks for most receiving yards (10,784), catches (752), and touchdowns (70).

Bengals star A.J. Green has ostensibly been pushing to play, but even he admits that a 2019 return is unlikely. This week, Green told the team website that he’s probably not going to suit up in the final two games, wiping out the entirety of his ninth NFL season. 

With Green’s season over before it could even start, the focus shifts to 2020 and his pending free agency. Green, understandably, would prefer an extension to the franchise tag, but he says a one-year cuff won’t prompt a season-long holdout.

“I have no problem with the franchise (tag). I don’t like it, but I’m not a guy that’s going to sit out the whole year,” Green said. “But at the end of the day, that shows me they’re not committed to me. That’s fine. They have a business they have to run. As the player I have my own business, so if you do that I have to protect myself.”

“If you’re not committed to me long-term, I understand. There are no hard feelings. You have a business to run. All great businesses face difficult decisions. I understand that. For me, I have to make a big decision as well.”

But even if he doesn’t hold out for the entire season, Green is more than prepared to stay away from the team throughout the offseason program and training camp if he does not get a long-term deal, as Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic writes. Dehner also reports that a source close to Green says, despite what Green has indicated to the public, the wideout never intended to play after suffering his foot injury in training camp.

Dehner believes the Bengals will in fact put the franchise tag on Green, and in order to avoid an unpleasant distraction throughout the spring and summer of 2020, when they will presumably be focusing on the development of a rookie QB, he thinks they should set a deadline prior to the opening of free agency in March to either trade or extend their star wideout. Of course, determining his value could be difficult given his recent injury history and the fact that he won’t have played a game since Week 13 of the 2018 season, but such a deadline could be

Green knows he could wind up elsewhere, but he says his goal remains to “break every receiving record” in Cincinnati. Green already has the most 100-yard games (33) in franchise history, but he’s aiming to top Chad Johnson’s career records of most yards (10,784), catches (752) and touchdowns (70).

To date, Green has 602 catches for 8,907 yards and 63 touchdowns, all with the Bengals.

A.J. Green‘s mid-career off year is two games away from becoming a reality, and the 31-year-old wide receiver is on the verge of free agency for the first time. But the Bengals may not be willing to let him hit the market.

The Bengals and Green are far apart in contract negotiations, Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports, adding that the team plans to use the franchise tag on the seven-time Pro Bowler if this value gulf persists into March. The franchise tag window opens Feb. 25 and closes March 10.

Earlier this season, Green voiced opposition to a tag scenario. The 2020 wide receiver market does not feature a host of high-profile names. Green would seemingly be in position to cash in, despite his health issues in recent years. The parties were not close on an extension before Green’s summer ankle injury, though the ninth-year veteran did say he wanted another long-term contract that would allow him to finish his career in Cincinnati.

Should the Bengals tag Green, it would be expected to cost just more than $18MM, Joel Corry of CBS Sports projects. That would be quite the obligation for a team that’s seen its top skill-position weapon miss much of the past two seasons. Green is in the final weeks of a four-year, $60MM extension agreed to back in 2015. Should Green miss the full 2019 season, he will have been sidelined for 23 of Cincinnati’s past 24 games.

Still, Green has proven to be one of the best players in franchise history when healthy. He is the only wideout in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl in his first seven seasons. Green’s most recent full season, 2017, ended with 75 receptions for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns.

Mike Brown discussed a Green extension earlier this year, before the season-altering injury, adding that a health setback would affect the receiver’s market. With that reality forming, this could be an interesting impasse — one that will affect the 2020 free agent class.

5:52pm: Green was in Green Bay today to visit with foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As Schefter notes, that development certainly makes it sound as if Green will not suit up for either of the Bengals’ remaining two games.

09:33am: The Bengals haven’t ruled out playing A.J. Green before the season is through, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The veteran has looked good in practice and wants to play, so it’s possible that he could make his belated 2019 debut in Week 16 or 17.

Green hasn’t played a single snap this season after suffering ankle damage during training camp. The Bengals opted against putting him on injured reserve to start the year, which would have mandated an absence of at least eight games. Without Green, the Bengals have gone 1-13.

The Bengals are reportedly not close to an extension with Green, so this could be his last opportunity to suit up in orange. In theory, the Bengals could keep him with the franchise tag, but the former first-round pick has been adamantly opposed to that.

“I don’t really care about (the contract negotiations),” Green said earlier this year. “If they’re worried about me not playing or not being healthy, then there’s 32 teams out there. I’m not really worried about that situation.”

Green became the NFL’s highest-paid receiver in 2015 after inking a four-year, $60MM extension, but his $15MM average annual value now ranks 11th at the position. The former No. 4 overall selection will be 32 years old when the 2020 campaign gets underway, and Green’s recent injury history — at least six missed games in 2016, 2018, and 2019 — will certainly factor into his asking price, but he should still be expected to command a lucrative multi-year deal if he does hit the free agent market.

The Bengals will finish out the year with games against the Dolphins and Browns.