Veteran recipient AJ Green, one of the most prolific players in franchise history during his 10 years with the Cincinnati Bengals, completes a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals worth up to $ 8.5 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Wednesday. Schefter. .
The deal is guaranteed to be $ 6 million, a source told ESPN.
Green, who will be 33 at the start of next season, will fill a much-needed WR2 hole for the Cardinals and will be the complementary piece to DeAndre Hopkins that the team has been looking for. Green has the most receiving yards in the past 10 years, while Hopkins is third.
If Larry Fitzgerald returns for the 2021 season, Arizona may have three future Hall of Fame recipients in its roster.
Hopkins essentially carried Arizona’s passing game in 2020, leading the team with 1,407 receiving yards; the next most prolific receiver was Christian Kirk with 621 meters.
Green will give third-year quarterback Kyler Murray a new threat, likely on the other side of Hopkins’ field.
Arizona had the most receiver sets last season with three wide runs, accounting for 44.9% of plays. Two-recipient sets accounted for 29.8% of plays and four-recipient sets accounted for 20.3% of plays.
Green’s contributions to the Bengals have dropped significantly in recent seasons due to numerous injuries and obvious frustrations with his role in the attack.
He finished second in Bengals franchise history last season in career reception yards (9,430), second in touchdowns (65) and second in total receptions (649). Green also holds the team record for most consecutive 100-yard receiving games (five, 2013).
However, most of Green’s totals came during the first five years of his career. As of the 2016 season, the former player in Georgia battled numerous injuries. From then on, he missed 29 games, including the entire 2019 season after sustaining an ankle injury in the first pre-season practice.
Green played all 16 games in 2020, but had a low totals of 47 catches for 523 yards and two touchdowns in one season during his career. He hit 43.9% of his goals, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the lowest of all eligible Bengal recipients last season.
Last season he was sometimes frustrated. In week 5 in Baltimore, Green was asked about a sideline exchange in which he seemed to indicate that if the Bengals didn’t want to use him, they should trade him. Green downplayed the interaction in subsequent interviews.
The seven-time Pro Bowl roster played the 2020 season on the one-year franchise tag of $ 18.2 million after the two sides failed to secure a long-term deal during the off-season.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss and Ben Baby contributed to this report.