A. J. Green is moving on from the Cincinnati Bengals. After being among the best players to have played for the team in the past decade, the Arizona Cardinals have reportedly signed A. J. Green on a one-year contract.
The announcement was made Wednesday. The contract has guaranteed payment of $6 million and has a total worth of $8.5 million. The signing of the veteran wide receiver also comes with the signing of Matt Prater, the kicker of the Detroit Lions. Prater has signed for two years.
The Plan For A. J. Green At The Cardinals
The Cardinals desperately needed a second wide receiver where A. J. Green is supposed to fill in. The player will be 33 next season. DeAndre Hopkins will also find a complement in Green. Both of the receivers rank within the top 5 when it comes to yards received in the last 10 seasons. Arizona may be fielding three potential Hall of Fame receivers this season should Larry Fitzgerald decide to return.
Last season saw Arizona get carried by Hopkins with his receiving yards. A. J. Green will now give three-season old Kyler Murray an incentive to perform on the opposite side to Hopkins. In the previous season, Arizona preferred playing three wide receivers the most. The sets accounted for 44.9% of all the sets played.
Green had been performing worse and worse for the Bengals over the last few seasons. This was due to a combination of major injuries as well as an unwanted offensive role. Green said on his Instagram that he would remain grateful forever to the team.
He has ended his time with the Bengals with the second most yards received, touchdowns as well as total receptions. Most of his impressive numbers came before 2016, after which he has missed a total of 29 games. 2020 was his worst season. He was franchise-tagged for one year in 2020.
Prater, the other veteran addition, is known as one of the best kickers in the history of the NFL. He has numerous records to his name and a 74.7% hit rate, which is also the highest ever in NFL. This should cover for the lack in the kicking department that saw Arizona miss the playoffs last season.
