The days are numbered for an A.J. Green extension with the Bengals

A.J. Green has yet to sign his franchise tag and has only until July 15th to sign a long-term extension with the Cincinnati Bengals.

On March 16th, the Cincinnati Bengals expectedly placed the franchise tag on A.J. Green, leaving four months for the two sides to agree on a long-term extension. Otherwise, contract negotiations would have to wait until after the 2020 season and the Pro Bowl wide receiver would hit free agency. With only a week remaining until the deadline, the Bengals and Green are in crunch time to come to terms on a price.

A.J. Green’s franchise tag was valued at around $18 million. Green stated multiple times throughout the year that he would not be happy about playing under the franchise tag but simply could not turn down that amount of money.

The Bengals would be wise to commit to a long-term extension with their star wide receiver. According to Over The Cap, Cincinnati still has $24 million in cap space heading into the 2020 season. It is no secret that Cincinnati would love to keep Green around, and they certainly have the cap space to do so.

Katie Blackburn is known for being a cap genius, structuring deals by front-loading cap hits, and giving the Bengals an out after only a couple of years. By extending Green to a three or four-year deal, Blackburn could actually save money against the cap.

Most deals floating around the internet expect a three to four year deal around $18 million per year. Green is most likely asking for close to Julio Jones money, $22 million per year. The Bengals’ front office would be obviously hesitant to give $20+ million per year to a player who has missed 29 games over the past four seasons, and Green should understand that.

A.J. Green fully expects that he has a few more years left in the tank, and he would be a welcomed addition for the first few seasons of Joe Burrow’s career. However, Zac Taylor and Co. must analyze the risk vs reward over the next week heading into the deadline.