The Cincinnati Bengals find themselves in a make-or-break position heading into the offseason following a porous two-win campaign in 2019-20. They appear set to draft their quarterback of the future in LSU’s Joe Burrow, but are also at risk of losing the only elite playmaker they’ve had on offense over the last handful of years in wide receiver A.J. Green.
However, it appears the Bengals won’t give up on retaining Green through any means necessary, including a one-year franchise tag. according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Cincinnati plans to use their franchise tag on Green, in hopes of bringing him back for next season and perhaps even beyond. Green has played all eight of his professional seasons with the Bengals.
The Bengals currently plan to franchise tag wide receiver A.J. Green, as they want him in Cincinnati in 2020 either through the tag or a longer deal, sources told @DanGrazianoESPN and me. A good selling point for the team's No. 1 pick.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 1, 2020
Over his career, A.J. Green has proven to be one of the NFL’s elite wideouts. Green has reached the 1,000-yard threshold six times in eight years and has made the Pro Bowl seven times.
Despite the top-end production, injuries have been a problem for the Georgia product and this was never more evident than it was last year. Green played in nine games for the Bengals last season, missing nearly half the campaign due to an ankle injury. The Georgia product has missed 23 of 32 games since turning 30.
Now, a new era is set to be ushered in and the Bengals don’t want to lose Green as Joe Burrow is likely to step in under center after nine seasons with Andy Dalton. According to NBC Sports, Burrow has also made it clear he wants the Bengals to find a way to keep A.J. Green around.
It appears likely that Burrow will have Green at his disposal for at least the next season if he plays under the franchise tag. Despite some believing Burrow should resist to heading to Cincinnati, he’ll have a decent myriad of weapons including Green, Tyler Boyd, John Ross III and Auden Tate, not to mention Joe Mixon in the backfield and Tyler Eifert at tight end.
