NFL Rumors: Joe Burrow Wants Bengals to Re-Sign A.J. Green Ahead of 2020 Draft

With Joe Burrow's arrival in Cincinnati seemingly preordained at this point, the presumptive No. 1 pick has reportedly made it clear he wants A.J. Green back next season as his top target.

Peter King of NBC Sports reported Burrow informed the Bengals he wants them to re-sign Green when the two sides met Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine. Green is an impending free agent and missed all of last season with torn ligaments in his ankle.

The franchise tag would cost the Bengals somewhere around $18 million for the 2020 season. That could be a financial wash provided Cincinnati trades or releases Andy Dalton this offseason.

While it's no surprise Burrow wants the best possible skill-position players around him, it's hard to tell what Green has left in the tank. He's missed 25 games the past two seasons and 31 since the beginning of 2016. Only once in the last four seasons has Green gone over the 1,000-yard threshold, though that's mostly due to injury.

Green was a 1,000-yard receiver in each of his first five NFL seasons.  

Tyler Boyd has stepped into the void each of the last two seasons with back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns but struggles to stretch the field. John Ross III looked to be on his way to a breakout campaign last season before his own injury issues cropped up. Ross has missed 24 games in his three NFL seasons.

Burrow thrived last season at LSU in a spread, wide-open scheme that utilized his ability to quickly read a defense and accurately deliver the ball. Having a speedster like Ross, a possession guy like Boyd and a do-everything star (when healthy) like Green would go a long way toward building a solid offense—especially if Joe Mixon bounces back from a frustrating 2019.

Assuming Green returns in one form or fashion, the Bengals should focus their free agency on building a competent offensive line in front of Burrow. The only way for Burrow to be able to read and react in a system similar to the one he had in LSU is if he can trust the line in front of him.