Dez Bryant Sets Market for Bengals and A.J. Green
May 26, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) walks onto the field during OTAs at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys and Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas got a deal done in the final minutes of Wednesday’s franchise tag deadline to complete a deal. With that deal finally completed, the focus will turn to A.J. Green for the next blockbuster deal as an NFL receiver. The question becomes, does Dez Bryant’s deal set the tone for those to follow?
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, here are the details of the Dez Bryant deal:
Final Dez Bryant numbers: 5 years, $70M, $45M guaranteed. Simply, wow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 15, 2015
and According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, here is Demaryius Thomas’s deal:
Denver and Demaryius Thomas reach agreement on matching 5-year, $70 million deal that includes $43.5M GTD, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2015
These deal could influence what A.J. Green will ask the Bengals for, in order to get a deal done. Dez Bryant’s number though do out weigh those of the Bengals wide receiver last season, mainly due to Green’s injury issues. Bryant, who played in all 16 games, had 88 receptions for 1,320 yards and 16 touchdowns. Green’s numbers in 13 games were 69 catches for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns.
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Green will look to improve upon his performance and health issues he faced in 2014 but with Marvin Jones returning from injury, it could both help and hurt Green’s receptions. The attention will be on three very good receivers and threats, which could help spread coverage helping Green’s numbers in both yards and yards per receptions, but it could also take away some targets and receptions.
Green’s future contract will push $10 million easily but closer to $12 to $13 millions in reality with $30 million guaranteed. If he takes anything less than that with the Bengals, we should consider it a hometown discount. The only issue is we may not know if he will be a Bengal long term for at least another year, and with a franchise tag looming for 2016, it could be two years. The answer is only a matter of time but the question is will A.J. Green be a Bengal when he receives his new contract?