Bill Belichick already swung for the fences this season by trying to provide Tom Brady with another top-tier target. The Antonio Brown experiment failed, but does the Patriots coach have one more big move up his sleeve?
There’s been much speculation in recent weeks indicating New England could be in the market for a star wide receiver. Stefon Diggs no longer seems like an option, and according to Bengals coach Zac Taylor, A.J. Green is not available for trade. Still, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio believes it would be vintage Belichick to find a way to land the Cincinnati receiver.
“Patriots fans have been smitten with the idea of A.J. Green for a while. Crazier things have happened,” Florio said last week on “Pro Football Talk.” “This is the ultimate Bill Belichick move: get a guy in the last year of his contract. I don’t know what you have to give up to get him, but you get him in the last year of his contract, so if you can’t work out a deal with him beyond this year, you get the compensatory draft pick if he leaves after the season ends.”
The Bengals might want to reevaluate their stance on Green who, as Florio notes, is an impending free agent. Even though Green appears to be nearing a return from an ankle injury, Cincinnati’s playoff hopes are all but vanished given its 0-6 start to the season. The franchise likely also is thinking about life after Andy Dalton, which could come sooner rather than later and send the Bengals into somewhat of a rebuild.
Cincinnati could accelerate its building toward the future via Green, who would command a hearty return on the trade market. A Super Bowl hopeful, like the Patriots, could be awfully motivated to work out a deal. It would be a move Belichick is no stranger to, and one the Bengals probably should consider making.
