Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green may be frustrated with the team for not allowing him to play in the final two games of the season.
Bob Holtzman of ESPN reported on Thursday that Green has not attended a single team meeting since the Bengals declared him inactive for their Week 16 game against the Houston Texans. Holtzman was told that even injured players typically attend meetings. Green supposedly wanted to play against Houston, so the belief is that he is trying to make a point.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis confirmed this week that Green will not play in Week 17, meaning the star receiver’s 2016 season is over. Despite missing the last five-plus games with a hamstring injury, Green is just 36 yards shy of eclipsing the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the sixth straight season. Green has never had less than 1,000 receiving yards in a season since he came into the NFL, and he likely wants to keep that streak alive.
The Bengals, however, do not want to risk having Green suffer a setback in a meaningless game after they signed him to a four-year, $60 million extension last offseason. You can’t blame the team for wanting to protect one of its biggest investments.
There is obviously some disconnect between Green and the Bengals, and that became evident before last weekend’s game. It’s probably no coincidence that he isn’t showing up to meetings.
