A.J. Green remains as one of the only players that hasn't signed his franchise tender this offseason. With the deadline looming, Green is not expected to sign a long-term deal with the Cincinnati Bengals before the 2020 season.
While speaking on SportsCenter on Saturday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler exclaimed that the Bengals expect Green to sign his franchise tag:
“He has not signed the tag. I've talked to some sources involved. They don't know either if he's going to or if a long-term deal is going to get done. They don't sound overly optimistic in Cincinnati that their best pass-catcher will be locked up long-term. They expect that he'll play this year under the tag. It's sort of a feeling-out period for both parties because Green practiced all but five minutes last year with various injuries, including a foot issue, and so they still consider him one of the best wide receivers when healthy. They know he's ready to go right now and finally healed up, so maybe a one-year pact is best for both parties.”
Even though he hasn't signed his tender, Cincinnati is confident Green will do so shortly. At the same time, they don't appear to be optimistic that they'll finalize a long-term contract with the Pro Bowl wideout.
Despite his injury concerns in the past two seasons, the Bengals placed their franchise tag on Green. Cincinnati has until July 15 to negotiate a multi-year deal with Green. Even though he's missed 23 games since 2018, Green is motivated to prove he can still be a key contributor.
Seeing that Wednesday is the deadline, it seems inevitable that Green is going to be playing under the tag. Furthermore, the former first-round pick is trending toward testing free agency in 2021.
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