11-14-2019, 11:54 AM
(11-13-2019, 03:59 PM)fredtoast Wrote: This is one of those situations where it is bad no matter how you view it.
If he really is ready to play then he has gone from what I considered to be one of the classier guys on the team to a selfish jerk.
If he really is not ready to play then he will probably never again be the player he once was. He had several months to recover from his injury last year, but could not make it through a simple no-contact practice without suffering another serious (probably season ending) injury. Guys his age (especially wide receivers) just don't come back from something like that.
I think the ankle has probably gone bad. Could be a botched surgery, could be his age and the recovery time, who knows? He has already said that the ankle has swelled up on him in practice. Hasn't practiced since. Rather than let other possible suitors know his condition, he will attempt to keep his value maximized by saying next to nothing. It's probably in the Bengals best interests not to let the cat out of the bag either.
If he was refusing to play, why continue to pay him this year? I would think the Bengals would've called him out by now, especially with all the bad press they've got this year from the constant losing.
They're just waiting and hoping he gets better. I really have my doubts at this point. If I was the Bengals, I would concentrate on an incentive based contract at this point in an attempt to keep him. It think it would be risky to the rebuild if AJ sucked up a bunch of cap space and couldn't stay on the field. That said, AJ will want the guaranteed money and will most likely be playing somewhere else next season.
"Our offensive line is going to surprise a lot of people" - Mike Brown (7-26-21)
