A. J. Green - Part 2 (Professional Career - Cincinnati Bengals)

Professional Career

Cincinnati Bengals

Photo Credit:

https://stripehype.com/2019/12/31/a-j-green-remains-

the-biggest-offseason-question-for-the-cincinnati-bengals/

2011 season

Green was selected in the first round with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals^(50)(51).  He became the highest drafted wide receiver in Georgia school history, breaking the mark set by Lindsay Scott, who went 13^th overall in 1984⁽⁵²⁾.  On July 28^th, 2011, Green agreed to a four – year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals worth $19.6 million dollars⁽⁵³⁾.  After signing with the Bengals, Green became a member of the School of the Legends (SOTL) in 2011⁽⁵⁴⁾.  Green was featured in the 2011 NFLPA Rookie Debut “One Team” Celebration which streamed live on YouTube from New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street.  The event was produced by SOTL, a licensed partner of the NFLPA, and employed YouTube’s live streaming platform⁽⁵⁵⁾.

Green’s first NFL reception was a 41 – yard touchdown reception from quarterback Bruce Gradkowski against the Cleveland Browns in the Bengals’ 2011 regular season opener, a 27 – 17 victory⁽⁵⁶⁾.  In the following game, Green recorded his first 100 – yard game with ten receptions for 124 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in a 24 – 22 loss to the Denver Broncos⁽⁵⁷⁾.  By the end of his rookie season, Green recorded four 100 – yard games and led all the NFL rookies in receptions and receiving yards, catching 65 passes for 1,057 yards in 15 games^(58)(59).  His seven touchdown receptions were second among rookies – one behind Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons.  On December 18^th, 2011, Green and fellow rookie quarterback Andy Dalton surpassed the all – time NFL record for yards and receptions by a rookie quarterback / receiver tandem⁽⁶⁰⁾.  One week later on December 24^th, 2011, Green’s 1,031 yards surpassed Cris Collinsworth’s franchise record of 1,009 yards set in 1981 for most receiving yards by a rookie^(61)(62).  Green made his playoff debut in the Wild Card Round against the Houston Texans.  In the 31 – 10 loss, he had five receptions for 47 receiving yards⁽⁶³⁾.  Green earned a Pro Bowl nomination for his rookie season in addition to being named to the NFL All – Rookie Team^(64)(65).  He was ranked 77^th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.⁽⁶⁶⁾

2012 season

In week 3 of the 2012 regular season, Green caught nine passes for a career – high 183 yards in a 38 – 31 win over the Washington Redskins⁽⁶⁷⁾.  He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September⁽⁶⁸⁾.  In week 6, against the Browns, he had seven receptions for 135 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 34 – 24 loss⁽⁶⁹⁾.  In week 9, he caught a 56 – yard touchdown against the New York Giants extending his touchdown streak to eight consecutive games, the longest in the NFL by receiver and second – longest overall⁽⁷⁰⁾.  He extended the streak to nine following a four – yard touchdown in a 28 – 6 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in week 11^(71)(72).  On December 23^rd, Green recorded his first career lost fumble against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he finished the game with 10 receptions for 116 yards, including a 21 – yard reception that set up the game – winning field goal^(73)(74).  Green gained over 100 receiving yards in five different games and was selected to his second Pro Bowl⁽⁷⁵⁾.  He finished the season with 97 receptions for 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns.  In the Bengals’ Wild Card Round loss to the Texans, he was the team’s leading receiver with five receptions for 80 yards⁽⁷⁶⁾.  He was ranked 16^th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.⁽⁷⁷⁾

2013 season

Green started off the 2013 season with nine receptions for 162 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in a 24 – 21 loss to the Chicago Bears⁽⁷⁸⁾.  In week 7, against the Detroit Lions, he scored on a career – long 82 – yard touchdown reception on the Bengals’ first drive of the game in the 27 – 24 victory⁽⁷⁹⁾.  In week 10, against the Baltimore Ravens, he recorded a 51 – yard touchdown reception on the game’s last play in regulation to tie the game^(80)(81).  However, the Bengals eventually lost in overtime⁽⁸²⁾.  He had a franchise – record five consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards from week 6 to week 10⁽⁸³⁾.  In week 16, against the Minnesota Vikings, he had seven receptions for 97 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 42 – 14 victory⁽⁸⁴⁾.  Green set new career highs in 2013 for receptions (98) and receiving yards (1,426, which was the third – highest total in Bengals history), while scoring 11 touchdowns⁽⁸⁵⁾.  He was targeted a franchise – record 178 times, breaking the 174 targets for Carl Pickens in 1996⁽⁸⁶⁾.  Green was named to his third Pro Bowl and was ranked ninth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014^(87)(88).  His 260 career receptions set an NFL record for most receptions in a player’s first three seasons, which was later broken by Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry in 2016 after both tallied 288.⁽⁸⁹⁾

The Bengals finished with an 11 – 5 record and won the AFC North⁽⁹⁰⁾.  In the wild card round against the San Diego Chargers, Green had three interceptions for 34 yards in the 27 – 10 loss.⁽⁹¹⁾

2014 season

Green caught six passes for 131 yards, including a 77 – yard fourth quarter touchdown reception, in the Bengals 23 – 16 win over the Ravens in week 1⁽⁹²⁾.  In week 2, he suffered a game – ending ligament injury on the Bengals opening drive against the Falcons, resulting in Green’s first NFL game without a reception^(93)(94).  He returned the following week against the Tennessee Titans and recorded six receptions for 102 yards in the 33 – 7 victory⁽⁹⁵⁾.  In week 5, against the New England Patriots, he re – aggravated his lingering toe injury and missed the following three games⁽⁹⁶⁾.  In week 14, he recorded 224 yards on 11 receptions (a 20.4 average) and one touchdown in a 42 – 21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers⁽⁹⁷⁾.  Green’s 224 receiving yards marked the third most the Steelers had ever given up in a game to one player.⁽⁹⁸⁾

Despite missing three games and nearly all of two more, Green still recorded his fourth consecutive 1,000 yard season, finishing the year with 69 receptions for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns⁽⁹⁹⁾.  However, a concussion ultimately forced him to miss the postseason for the first time in his career⁽¹⁰⁰⁾.  He was ranked 37^th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.⁽¹⁰¹⁾

2015 season

Green was an instrumental part of the Bengals recording a franchise – record tying 12 victories in 2015⁽¹⁰²⁾.  In week 3 of the 2015 season, Green caught 10 passes for a career – high 227 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns in a 28 – 24 win over the Ravens⁽¹⁰³⁾.  His 227 yards were the second highest single game total in franchise history, trailing only Chad Johnson’s 260 receiving yards in a 2006 game against the Chargers⁽¹⁰⁴⁾.  In week 8 against the Steelers, he had 11 receptions for 118 receiving yards and a touchdown in 16 – 10 victory⁽¹⁰⁵⁾.  In week 12, against the St. Louis Rams, he recorded his second multi – touchdown game of the season⁽¹⁰⁶⁾.  In week 13 against the Browns and week 14 against the Steelers, he recorded consecutive 100 yard games while catching another touchdown^(107)(108).  He finished the 2015 season with 86 receptions, 1,297 yards, and 10 touchdowns⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ while recording his fifth straight 1,000 – yard season to start a career.  He joined Randy Moss as the only players in NFL history to accomplish the feat at the time.⁽¹¹⁰⁾

During the Wild Card Round against the Steelers, he caught five passes for 71 yards and his first postseason touchdown, which put the Bengals up 16 – 15 with less than two minutes remaining⁽¹¹¹⁾.  However, a late turnover and penalty by the Bengals loomed large as the Bengals lost 16 – 18⁽¹¹²⁾.  He earned his fifth straight Pro Bowl and was ranked 16^th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.⁽¹¹³⁾

2016 season:

In the Bengals’ season opener against the New York Jets, Green had 12 receptions for 180 receiving yards, including a 54 – yard touchdown as the Bengals won by a score of 23 – 22.  Green had three key receptions on the Bengals’ drive to set up the late go – ahead field goal⁽¹¹⁴⁾.  In week 4, he caught 10 passes for 173 receiving yards and a touchdown during a 22 – 7 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football⁽¹¹⁵⁾.  In week 7, the Bengals defeated the Browns while Green finished the win with eight receptions for 169 receiving yards and a 48 – yard touchdown⁽¹¹⁶⁾.  The following game, Green recorded nine catches for 121 receiving yards in a 27 – 27 tie with the Redskins⁽¹¹⁷⁾.  Green returned in week 10 and caught seven passes for 68 yards and a touchdown during the Bengals’ 21 – 20 loss at the Giants.⁽¹¹⁸⁾

On November 20^th, Green sustained a tear to his hamstring in the first quarter of a 16 – 12 loss to the Buffalo Bills.  He was inactive for the next five games before being placed on injured reserve prior to the regular – season finale^(119)(120).  Green finished the 2016 season with 66 receptions, 964 receiving yards, and four touchdown receptions in 10 games.  This marked the first time in Green’s career that he failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards⁽¹²¹⁾.  Despite the injury, Green was named to his sixth straight Pro Bowl on December 20^th(122).  He was ranked 17^th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.⁽¹²³⁾

2017 season:

In week 3, against the Green Bay Packers, Green recorded ten receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown in the 27 – 24 overtime loss⁽¹²⁴⁾.  In week 5 against the Bills, Green had two passes deflected off his hands that were intercepted and he lost a fumble, but still had an impressive outing with seven receptions for 189 receiving yards as the Bengals won 20 – 16⁽¹²⁵⁾.  In week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Green got into a fight with Jalen Ramsey, resulting in both players being ejected and his first ever foul^(126)(127).  He was later fined $42,541 dollars⁽¹²⁸⁾.  In week 10 against the Titans, he recorded five receptions for 115 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Bengals lost 24 – 20⁽¹²⁹⁾.  In week 13 against the Steelers, he caught two touchdowns in the 23 – 20 loss⁽¹³⁰⁾.  On December 19^th, 2017, Green was named to his seventh straight Pro Bowl⁽¹³¹⁾.  Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 75 receptions for 1,078 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in the Bengals’ 7 – 9 season^(132)(133).  2017 marked the seventh consecutive season that Green led the Bengals in receiving yards, breaking the mark of set by Chad Ochocinco and Cris Collinsworth⁽⁸⁶⁾.  He was ranked 22^nd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.⁽¹³⁴⁾

2018 season:

On September 13^th, 2018, Green had the first three – touchdown game of his career against the Ravens, completing the hat – trick in the first half, with each of his first three catches resulting in touchdowns in the 34 – 23 victory⁽¹³⁵⁾.  In week 4, against the Falcons, with the Bengals trailing by five with only 12 seconds remaining, Andy Dalton connected with Green on a 13 – yard pass to give the Bengals the game – winning points^(136)(137).  On October 7^th, in a 27 – 17 win over the Dolphins, Green caught six passes for 112 yards, setting a franchise record with his 32^nd 100 – yard receiving game, breaking the previous one by Chad Johnson⁽¹³⁸⁾.  He suffered a toe injury in week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and missed the next three games⁽¹³⁹⁾.  Green returned in week 13 against the Broncos but re – injured his toe and was placed on injured reserve on December 5^th(140).  He finished the 2018 season with 46 receptions for 694 receiving yards and six touchdowns, ending his Pro Bowl streak at seven seasons, as the Bengals finished with a 6 – 10 record^(141)(142).  He was ranked 58^th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.⁽¹⁴³⁾

2019 season:

During training camp, Green suffered torn ligaments in his ankle while practicing with the team at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.  Despite being expected to only miss a handful of games early in the season,⁽¹⁴⁴⁾ he ended up missing the entire year, being inactive for every game before being placed on injured reserve on December 23^rd, 2019.⁽¹⁴⁵⁾

2020 season:

On March 16^th, 2020, the Bengals placed the franchise tag on Green⁽¹⁴⁶⁾.  He signed the one year tender on July 17^th, 2020⁽¹⁴⁷⁾.  He made his official return from injury in the Bengals’ 2020 regular season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers⁽¹⁴⁸⁾.  He scored his first touchdown since week 8 of the 2018 season in week 11 against the Washington Football Team⁽¹⁴⁹⁾.  Overall, in the 2020 season, he finished with 47 receptions for 523 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns as the Bengals finished with a 4 – 11 – 1 record^(150)(151).  He finished his Bengals career second to Chad Johnson in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.^(152)(2) 

Part 3 of the A. J. Green article will be
posted on Friday November 7, 2025