Glazer: Green won't play Week 16

The Bengals are using their franchise tag on WR A.J. Green. This move seemed likely, based on HC Zac Taylor talking this offseason about wanting to keep the veteran wideout around. Green lost all of 2019 and half of 2018 to injury. But if he can return to full health for 2020, the veteran should remain Cincinnati's lead WR. A healthy Green in the 1st half of 2018 didn't hurt Tyler Boyd's target share at all. (Boyd actually drew a slightly larger share with Green on the field than he did after Green went down.)

Bengals HC Zac Taylor said in a Cincinnati.com podcast this week that WR A.J. Green is "a guy we want to be around." It sounds like the team could use the franchise tag to keep the veteran around if they don't agree on a contract extension. Green missed all of 2019 after sitting out 7 games in 2018, but he still looks like a solid fantasy football value at the bottom of WR3 range in early best-ball drafting. Green ranked among the top 16 WRs in PPR points per game every year from 2012 through 2018.

Bengals WR A.J. Green (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game against the Raiders. The swelling in that ankle has reportedly subsided, but Green didn’t practice at all this week. Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate will continue to serve as Cincinnati’s top 2 WRs vs. Oakland’s burnable secondary.

Bengals WR A.J. Green is out "indefinitely" after experiencing a setback with his injured ankle, according to ESPN's Ben Baby. Green doesn't sound particularly interested in pushing through the injury for the 0-8 Bengals. "For me, just gotta make sure I feel comfortable going out there and pushing it," Green said Thursday. "For me, just gotta make sure I gotta take care of me first before anything else." Green did add that he's still hoping to play in 2019, but that seems weeks away now. He's droppable if you need the roster spot.

Bengals WR A.J. Green told reporters on Thursday that his ankle is swollen and said "probably not" when asked if he'll play against the Ravens this weekend. So we'll need to wait at least another week for Green's 2019 debut. His continued absence keeps WRs Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate in play as lower-end fantasy options.