The Cincinnati Bengals finally made it official and used the franchise tag on wide receiver A.J. Green. As of now, he will play his ninth season in the NFL—all with Cincinnati—on a one-year deal.
There is a pretty clear line of logic that got us to this point. Green and the Bengals still have work to do in negotiating a multi-year deal. The veteran receiver understands this may be his last opportunity to secure a long-term contract as one of the top receivers in the NFL, and Cincinnati has some hesitancy paying that for a player who missed all of 2019 and seven games in 2018.