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One of the top upcoming free agents this spring will be wide receiver A.J. Green, who has spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
While Green has insisted he is enjoying his time in Cincinnati and is open to re-signing, he is 31 years old (he'll be 32 at the start of next season), and the Bengals are going nowhere fast.
For that reason, there seems to be a decent chance that Green will be playing elsewhere in 2020.
Should Green decided to test the open market (and I don't see why he won't), he will surely have a host of suitors who will be vying for his services, as, when healthy, Green is one of the league's best wide outs.
One team that comes to mind as a possible destination is the Green Bay Packers.
Yes, the Packers have Davante Adams, but outside of that, Aaron Rodgers' options are rather limited in the aerial attack. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is only a solid No. 2, and Geronimo Allison has not progressed like many had hoped.
Perhaps Allen Lazard can develop into a player down the line, but with Rodgers turning 36 years old in December, Green Bay doesn't have time to sit and wait around: it needs immediate results.
Enter Green, who could comprise an absolutely lethal duo alongside of Adams and give the Packers one of the deadliest offenses in football.
We know that even in his old age, Rodgers can still sling it. Maybe not like he once could, but make no mistake: this man is still very good, and Green Bay also has one of the best running backs in football in Aaron Jones.
Not only that, but the Packers have a very good offensive line.
All they are really missing is more top-end talent down the field, as it's really just Adams and not much else. Green Bay thought it would potentially be getting an elite tight end in Jimmy Graham when it landed him in 2018, but it's clear he is past his prime.
Basically, the Packers' once-vaunted offense has been reduced to Rodgers trying to make something out of nothing or Jones taking over, and while that can get the job done here and there, it's probably not a good recipe for winning Super Bowls.
Plus, while Green Bay's defense is much improved, it still isn't good enough to rely on to shut teams down in a playoff run if the Packers' offense isn't up to task.
Plain and simply, Green Bay needs more offensive talent, and Green is that and then some.
Prior to 2018 when injuries started to hit, Green was a regular in the Pro Bowl. Literally.
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The University of Georgia product made the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven seasons, logging 1,000 yards in six of those seven years. Oh, and the one season he didn't finish with 1,000 yards? In 2016, when injuries limited him to 10 games and 964 yards.
Last year, a toe injury kept Green sidelined for seven games. This season, an ankle injury that occurred during training camp has kept Green on the shelf, and while the wide out seemed in line to return this weekend, his timetable is suddenly sketchy.
This could very well be Green playing it safe, as he does not want to re-injure himself and cost himself some money this offseason.
Luckily, these past couple of injury issues that Green has had aren't major, so while some may want to be quick to place the “injury prone” label on him, it's probably too soon for that just yet.
And again, this is the Packers we are talking about, a club that can't afford to waste any time. Rodgers is not going to be around forever, so they need to win now.
That's why taking the risk on Green would be a wise move.
You can call it risky given the fact that Green has played just nine games since last year, but when you take into account Green Bay's circumstances, it is a risk it absolutely needs to take.
Rodgers is getting to the point where he is no longer dominant. He can pull out some big-time performances every now and then, but the times of Rodgers doing it on a weekly basis are probably gone.
Taking that into consideration, he unquestionably needs more supporting talent to lift him up on Sundays when he may not be feeling like himself, which will surely become more and more frequent as time passes (Father Time is undefeated, and all that jazz).
If the Packers are going to target any big names this offseason, A.J. Green should be at the top of their list.
