Zac Taylor: We are not trading A.J. Green

[Who Dey]

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The Bengals haven’t signed wide receiver A.J. Green to an extension that would keep him under contract beyond this season, but they say they have no interest in parting ways with their longtime star.

There’s been trade chatter involving Green’s name recently and Green said this week that he’s “prepared for anything.” According to head coach Zac Taylor, the only thing that Green needs to prepare for is life as a member of the 0-5 Bengals.

“I’ve heard the speculation. We are not trading that guy,” Taylor said, via Paul Dehner of TheAthletic.com.

We’ve heard similar things from teams in the past only to see a change of heart — see Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman saying the team didn’t sign Odell Beckham to trade him for a recent example — so the days leading up to the October 29 trade deadline may still see his name get mentioned once or twice. The Bengals haven’t been an organization big on sweeping overhauls, which may make such a reversal less likely in this case.

Whatever the state of trade talks, Thursday also brought some reason to hope that the Bengals might actually have Green on the field soon. He was dressed for practice for the first time since injuring his ankle in late July and a good outcome from the day’s work should keep the ball rolling for his long-awaited 2019 debut.