Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green might not be out for the season after all.
Green spoke out for the first time since he suffered a hamstring injury at home against the Bills two weeks ago. According to ESPN.com, Green said he suffered a Grade II hamstring tear.
“It was 50 percent torn,” he said.
Green said he won’t require surgery and that he started doing some light jogging this week. He’s out for Sunday’s home game against the Eagles, but he left the door open for a return this season even though the Bengals are 3-7-1.
“I want to get back, no matter what kind of season we’re having,” Green said.
With 36 more receiving yards, Green would be in the company of Randy Moss as the only players in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first six seasons.
“That’s cool, but I’m not going to put my whole career (in jeopardy) just because of a record,” Green said.
Green doesn’t hog the spotlight like other players at his position, so it shouldn’t be surprising that he downplayed any individual goal while emphasizing a team goal that’s just about hopeless. The Bengals have little chance of making the playoffs.
“That’s not the type of guy I am,” he said. “I don’t bail out on my team because we’re not having the season we want to have.”
The Bengals have three of their five remaining games at home and play no one with a record better than 6-5. Two of those games, against the Steelers and Ravens, are at home. One of the Bengals’ two road games is at Cleveland.
As selfless as he is, Green is also a competitor. It’s a good bet he’s eyeing a return thinking that it might not require a winning record to earn the AFC North title and the playoff spot that goes with it.
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