A day after announcing his retirement, receiver A.J. Green said he is “at peace.”
“It’s a blessing,” Green told Geoff Hobson of the team website. “I played 12 years. I played for only two teams. I’m very blessed. I have my health. The big thing for me is I can walk away on my own terms knowing I did everything the right way. . . . Physically I could play a couple of more years, but mentally it’s tougher. You know me. If I’m not fully invested in, I’m cheating the game and it was time to walk away.”
Green now becomes a fan and his rooting interest will go to the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2011.
“Miranda is like, ‘Now we can root for the Bengals again,’” Green said of his wife. “That’s my team now. I want those guys to win. I’m a big fan of Joe [Burrow] and those guys. One thing about the Bengals, they’ll draft the skill players unbelievably. They always do well. I hope they can keep all those boys in.”
Green, 34, finished with 727 receptions for 10,514 yards and 70 touchdowns. He made seven consecutive Pro Bowls from 2011-17 but hasn’t made one since.
It might be enough to earn him discussion for the Hall of Fame.
“I felt like when I was out there I was one of the best,” Green said. “Look at how I was playing in those years I did get hurt.”
