A.J. Green bruised his knee last week during training camp and as a result, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver will not be making the trip to the Georgia Dome to play the Atlanta Falcons for the team’s first 2013 preseason matchup.
Cincinnati is exercising as much precaution as possible when it comes to their star Pro Bowl receiver. This is especially true when taking into consideration some of the other injuries around the league. Philadelphia lost receiver Jeremy Maclin for the rest of the season due to an ACL. While Greens injury is minor, there is no sense is rushing to get him on the field for the preseason.
Green is entering his third season with Cincinnati, making the Pro Bowl in both his rookie season and second year with the team. He hauled in 97 receptions for 1,350 yards in 2012, scoring 11 touchdowns. In the playoff loss to Houston, Green caught five passes for 80 yards. There is no question that he is the biggest playmaker on offense for a Bengals team that is looking to contend for an AFC North division championship. Green was instrumental in Cincinnati’s AFC North title last season.
Green has not seen the practice field since he injured the knee and the timeframe that he is expected to return is not known.
Cincinnati will play Atlanta on Thursday night August 8th, with ESPN and the Monday Night Football crew in town to broadcast the match up.