By Jordan Long
The Cincinnati Bengals sit at 1-4-1 after yesterday’s 37-34 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The NFL trade deadline is on November 3rd at 4 PM Eastern Time. The Bengals could be shopping one of their top wide receivers AJ Green.
Green has been with the Bengals for the past 10 years. In those seasons he passed the 1,000 mark for receiving yards 6 times. Last year he didn’t play a game dealing with an ankle injury. This year with new quarterback Joe Burrow, Green is making plays. He caught 29 passes for 297 yards but has yet to have a touchdown. If that continues it will be his only season in the NFL he hasn’t caught a touchdown pass.
The Bengals are rebuilding. They would like to deal Green. His cap hit for this year is around $18.1 million. Green is going to be a free agent at the end of the season and he could be a rental for a team who is looking to make the postseason. Those interested in making an agreement with the Bengals could be the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and Oakland Raiders.
San Francisco doesn’t really have a large target like AJ Green at wide receiver. They trust tight end George Kittle as their playmaker on offense. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looks for him early and often. After that, the wide receiver core is week. AJ Green may help them move the chains for first downs or longer. Adding Green to the team might be the difference in them making the postseason or missing it altogether.
Green Bay could make sense. Quarterback Aaron Rogers uses the whole field. He looks to throw to every wide receiver. There would be plenty of footballs to go around. The problem might be if Green’s number isn’t called that often, he may complain because of the number of touches he is getting. If that is the case it wouldn’t be worth it for the Packers.
New England always takes a chance on veteran players. Green wouldn’t be any different. The Patriots top wide receiver is Julian Edelman but after him, the receiving corps is weak. When Edelman is double covered it is difficult for quarterback Cam Newton to throw the football downfield. Acquiring Green makes the defense decide who to double cover between the two. Whoever is open is where Newton is going to throw the football to move the chains.
The Raiders don’t make sense as a landing spot. They have receivers who make plays in Henry Ruggs, Nelson Agholor, and Hunter Renfrow. They have a speed running back in Josh Jacobs who can catch passes out of the backfield. Green is not a fit for them for their offense. Adding Green means Head Coach Jon Gruden would need to decide which wide receiver to take out of the game. It wouldn’t make sense.
The Bengals will do what is best for their team to look towards the future. If they feel trading Green to a potential playoff team is the answer, then they should make the move. They may keep Green for the rest of the year. Once the season is over Green could leave Cincinnati for nothing since he is a free agent.
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