Bengals receiver A.J. Green wanted to play out the season despite a hamstring injury, but the team decided to shut him down, not wanting to risk its best playmaker after they were eliminated from the playoffs. That isn’t sitting well with Green.
According to Bob Holtzman of ESPN, Green hasn’t been around much this week and hasn’t been attending team meetings, which injured players usually do even if they’re not going to play on Sunday. Green is still on the 53-player roster and has not been placed on injured reserve.
The implication is that Green isn’t happy with the team and doesn’t want to be around right now. It’s an unusual situation: Usually, when a player doesn’t attend team meetings, questions are raised about his commitment. But in this case, the player is so committed to winning that he wants to play through an injury even in a meaningless Week 17 game, and he’s upset that the team won’t let him.
Green was on pace for his best season yet until he got hurt. He’ll finish the season with 66 catches for 964 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games.
