A.J. Green to Use Frustration as Fuel, Wants To Stay in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green has gotten off to a slow start this season, but he wants to stay in Cincinnati.
Four days after some thought he asked to be traded on the sidelines during a 27-3 blowout loss to the Ravens, Green made it clear that he wanted to remain in Cincinnati past the Nov. 3 trade deadline.
"Yeah, of course," Green said without hesitation. "I think we're building something special here and I just want to be a part of the team and help us win."
Green has 14 receptions for 119 yards this season and just one catch over the last six quarters.
He missed most of the second half of last Sunday's loss to the Ravens with a hamstring injury. The seven-time Pro Bowler was visibly frustrated on the sidelines.
He denies saying anything about a potential trade, which some speculated about as the CBS cameras were focused on him.
“I don’t know if that’s accurate. I think they’re just trying to reach for something," Green said on Thursday.
It did look like he said "just trade me," but only he and the Bengals staffer he was speaking with know the truth. Despite the denial, Green admitted that he's frustrated about his lack of production through five games.
“For me just getting involved. Just little things, man. I think we’re all frustrated with the way we’re playing," Green said. "When you put all that work into the week and things don’t go the way we planned, it gets frustrating."
Green acknowledges that he's struggled acclimating to life in Zac Taylor's offense. The star receiver was in the building last season, but missed the entire year with an ankle injury, so this is essentially year one in a new system.
“Still working my way in. Still trying to find my way in and stuff in this new offense," he said. "It’s just getting more comfortable in the offense. They’re moving me around more and putting me in spots to where I can get the looks that we need. Just going back, watching the game, there’s a lot of those looks where Zac put me in position to get the ball. The coverages just went to my side."
Green is a quiet guy, but he was somber on Thursday. He's clearly searching for answers for the first time in his career.
He hasn't scored a touchdown in 2020. The five-game streak is the longest single-season stretch of his career.
The only other time Green didn't score over a five-game span (regular season) dates back to his rookie year when he didn't make it into the end zone in the Bengals' final four games of the season. He didn't score in Week 1 of the following year.
Those are the only two instances where he's gone five games without scoring a touchdown. He'll look to break that streak on Sunday.
"When you play this game long enough, everything is not going to be smooth sailing," Green said. "I’m always talking to people and they’re always telling me bad times never last so long. Good people last longer. So I gotta continue to keep working and keep getting better each week."
Green didn't make an effort to tackle Baltimore's Marcus Peters after Peters intercepted a throw intended for Green in Sunday's game. He knows those type of plays are unacceptable.
"I just can't let the frustration get to me," Green said. "I'm a leader on this team. I feel like I let my teammates down. That's the biggest thing. I felt disappointed in myself because that's not who I am as a person and as a player.
"I think we're all frustrated about the way we're playing because we're way better than what we're putting on tape. For me, I just have to channel that frustration and keep playing like I have for the last couple of years."
Green will try to get on track this Sunday against the Colts' top-10 defense.
"I'm just happy to be back out there," Green said. "I know it's going to come over time."
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