A.J. Green hasn’t heard about a trade, but “prepared for anything”

[Who Dey]

Wide receiver A.J. Green said recently that he hopes to spend his entire career with the Bengals, but the team’s 0-5 record and Green’s expiring contract have led some to wonder if a trade might be a possibility.

Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick weighed in on that possibility this week and cautioned that “it’s going to fall apart” if Green were dealt away. It’s fair to wonder how you’d notice things fell apart for a winless team, but it’s clearly seems like something’s in the air at the moment.

Green insists that it isn’t in the air around him, however.

“I tell everybody I haven’t heard anything,” Green said, via the team’s website. “I don’t fantasize about anything like that. I’m just trying to get healthy and go from there. I’m prepared for anything. A trade’s not going to change who I am. I’m still going to play. I’m still going to be A.J.”

One complication to both trading Green and getting something out of him in Cincinnati is the ankle injury that’s kept him off the field since late July. Green’s already been ruled out for this week, but ran and cut at full speed for the first time since being injured on Wednesday so a return may not be that far off regardless of what uniform he’ll be wearing when he makes it.