Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

With the Bengals 0-5, trade rumors have surfaced regarding their veterans. Some execs believe A.J. Green could fetch Cincinnati a first-round pick, and the seven-time Pro Bowler returned to practice Thursday. But Green is not on the trade block.

Zac Taylor confirmed Thursday the Bengals “are not trading that guy,” per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. (on Twitter). Less than three weeks remain until the Oct. 29 deadline, but the Bengals’ current stance stands to continue the franchise’s conservative nature on this front.

Green’s anchored the Bengals’ offense for nearly the entirety of the 2010s but has struggled with injuries over the past few years. The ankle/foot malady Green suffered in late July will cause him to miss Week 6. By Sunday, the 31-year-old wideout will have been absent for 19 of the Bengals’ past 41 games.

The only wide receiver to begin his career 7-for-7 in Pro Bowls, Green has one season remaining on his contract. He and the Bengals have tried for months to come to terms on an extension, but the sides have failed on this front. The Bengals re-signed Tyler Boyd earlier this year.

Going through a Larry Fitzgerald-type of career appeals to the Bengals’ ninth-year talent, and it appears Green will not have to worry about a midseason trade spoiling his chance of finishing his career with the team that drafted him. That said, the Bengals are well off the contention map and would almost certainly be able to recoup a Day 2 pick (at worst) for their top pass catcher. An argument exists for the team to move Green, but the traditional franchise is not ready to do consider it. This also raises the stakes for the Bengals completing an extension.

After weeks of rule outs and no timetables for his return, Bengals receiver A.J. Green took a step in the right direction Thursday. Green returned for a “very limited practice,” according to Geoff Hobson of the team’s official site (Twitter link). As Hobson notes, this is his first time getting any work in since he got hurt back on July 27th. 

In a follow-up tweet, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes that Green has a chance to play next week. Green “made some cuts, did some sidesteps over pads and caught a couple balls” in the period of practice open to the media, per a tweet from Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He’s already been ruled out for Cincy’s Week 6 game against the Ravens. At 0-5, it’s looking like a lost season for the Bengals, which has led to a lot of speculation that they’ll look to trade Green, an impending free agent.

Just earlier today Green said he hadn’t heard anything about a potential trade, and he recently expressed a desire to have a career like his mentor Larry Fitzgerald has had with the Cardinals. In three of the past four seasons now, Green has missed significant time due to injury. He’s still one of the league’s better receivers when healthy, but he’ll be 32 next season, which complicates things. He’s reportedly been casually discussing an extension with the Bengals for months now, but the two sides are apparently pretty far apart on compensation.

Green suffered a severe ankle injury toward the beginning of camp, and recently there have been rumblings that they may look to keep him out past the Week 9 bye. The fact that he returned to practice today suggests he’ll be back in either Week 7 or 8, perhaps to better showcase him for a deadline trade. If they’re not going to trade him they could really use him as soon as possible, as fellow receiver John Ross was recently placed on IR.

As A.J. Green awaits to make his season debut, trade speculation continues to swirl. However, the wide receiver says that he hasn’t gotten word on any possibility of a trade from Bengals brass. 

“I tell everybody I haven’t heard anything,” Green told the team’s website. “I don’t fantasize about anything like that. I’m just trying to get healthy and go from there. I’m prepared for anything. A trade’s not going to change who I am. I’m still going to play. I’m still going to be A.J.”

Earlier this week, Green was ruled out for this Sunday’s contest against the Ravens, marking six missed games for the multiple-time Pro Bowler. No one knows when Green will be ready to play, but the club’s Week 9 bye should help. That is, if he’s still on the team.

The league’s trade deadline is days away and while it’s hard to imagine the Bengals without A.J. Green, we’ve been surprised before.

Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green has been ruled out for yet another week, coach Zac Taylor announced. Green is still expected to return, Taylor says, but his timetable remains murky. 

Here’s what we do know: Green won’t play against the Ravens this week. He’s still recovering from surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left ankle and will need more time before practicing, even though he shed his protective boot in September.

Green missed seven games last season. Already this season (including the Baltimore tilt), he’s down six games. It’s not what the 0-5 Bengals envisioned for this year, nor is it what Green envisioned as he looks ahead to free agency.

Green pushed for an extension prior to the season, but the two sides were unable to get anything done before training camp, when Green suffered the injury. Now, he’s in limbo – with a limp.

Green, one of the game’s most productive WRs since entering the league in 2011, earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first seven seasons and has topped 1,000 yards six times.