Outside of Bengals, Patriots Have Best Odds to Land A.J. Green in Free Agency
One thing the New England Patriots need to do this offseason, regardless of whether or not Tom Brady stays in New England, is acquire offensive weapons. The Patriots' offense struggled mightily during the 2019 season in large part because Brady continually held onto the ball in passing situations due to none of his pass-catchers being open downfield. The team tried to fix that issue in-season by signing Antonio Brown and trading for Mohamed Sanu, but in the end, that didn't help.
An option for the Patriots at the receiver position in free agency is the A.J. Green. At 30 years old, the Bengals' wideout is hitting the market after a rough 2019 campaign in which he did not play a single snap because of a lingering ankle injury. As a Cincinnati team that has been home to Green since 2011, the possibility does exist for him to take a hometown discount and return to the Bengals. But one thing we do know is that Cincinnati likely will not break the bank to bring back the injury-prone receiver.
So, with the very real possibility of Green playing for a new team in 2020, SportsLine oddsmakers have released their odds for where the seven-time Pro Bowler could wind up next in his NFL career. Though the Bengals obviously have the best odds (even), the next best odds of acquiring Green are the Patriots (+300).
Here are the complete list of odds, per SportsLine:
Bengals: Even
Patriots: +300
Eagles: +500
49ers: +600
Packers: +800
Bills: +1000
Raiders: +1200
Seahawks: +1400
Cowboys (if Cooper leaves): +1500
Green has been linked to New England for years now. Anytime there have been rumors swirling about Cincinnati potentially trading him, the Patriots were always in that conversation. Now, the six-time Super Bowl champions have an opportunity to sign Green, albeit at 30 years of age, without having to give up any players or draft capital in order to do it.
One has to think that with his amount of talent, and with the lack of success the teams he has been have had in the past, Green would be very open, even at a cheap price, to play with a contender like the Patriots. He would have an opportunity to play under the greatest head coach to ever be in the NFL, and him being there would give Brady one more reason to re-sign with the Patriots. This is definitely a move New England brass should push for.
Over his nine-year career, Green has accumulated 602 receptions for 8,907 yards and 62 touchdowns.
