The Cincinnati Bengals should do the right thing and trade A.J. Green

Everything in life has an expiration date. A.J. Green and the Cincinnati Bengals have outlived theirs, making it time to move on.

All good things eventually end, and as far as the Cincinnati Bengals are concerned, it’s long past time to cut the cord and trade A.J. Green to a team who can and will contend for not just wins, but a Super Bowl sooner rather than later.

It’s time. After a Week 4 loss at a less than impressive Pittsburgh Steelers, the idea that wins happen when Green is on the field isn’t just wildly inaccurate, it’s a Fool’s Paradise. Green doesn’t fix a bad offensive line, a bad defense, or most importantly, make the Bengals a .500 football team or better.

Cincinnati has the kind of issues that a wide receiver doesn’t fix. Can anyone say that a healthy Green has the Bengals better than 0-4? More interestingly, and for those fans who are prone to wish-casting, does he change any of the following notes in this tweet from Jay Morrison?

I’ll concede 0-4 isn’t necessarily a guarantee the Bengals finish 0-16. Still, when looking ahead to the balance of their schedule, wins look more difficult to come by. They still have two games each against their division rivals Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Add to that games against the Los Angeles Rams and Super Bowl favorite New England Patriots, and the potential for wins is narrow.

Also, with the exception of the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, the Steelers, and the Miami Dolphins, every other team is .500 or better. Meaning eight out of the next 12 games the Bengals play, they’ll be facing a team with a winning record. Something the Bengals may not get close to in 2019.

After four games, fans know what kind of team they have. As the great Bill Parcells said, “you are what you record says you are.” The Bengals are 0-4 and trending in a direction that doesn’t spell anything other than a No. #1, #2, or #3 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Is that a bad thing?

Green doesn’t move the needle. He doesn’t change an equation that his position can’t significantly affect. What he can change is the draft fortunes of the Bengals in 2020 and perhaps beyond. He’s still a top target in the league, and a team needing a talent like his will yield the kind of tangible help Cincinnati needs: draft picks.

It’s not complicated. The Bengals can help themselves and help A.J. Green by sending him elsewhere. Keeping him in Orange and Black only prolongs the inevitable mediocrity fans in Cincinnati are tired of. One has to imagine Green is tired of that too.