Cincinnati Bengals receiver A.J. Green is perfectly happy to see his role in the offense diminished if it means his team's shot at a Super Bowl is improved.
Green averaged a career-high 6.6 receptions per game in 10 games played last season, largely because the Bengals lacked other reliable receiving weapons with Tyler Eifert hurt for much of the season.
This year, the team expects to have Eifert back healthy and added speedster John Ross in the first round of the draft to help take the pressure off Green.
Green says the extra firepower might allow him to have a year like Atlanta Falcons wideout Julio Jones had last season.
"I know what I’m capable of doing," Green told Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official website. "Never a doubt in my mind. Last year I had opportunities and just took advantage of them. In 2015 I felt like I had a good season, but we had all the weapons. I didn’t have that many targets, but I still had good yardage. This year it’s just not me and Brandon (LaFell) and four young guys. Everything doesn’t have to be forced to me, which I like.
"That’s the goal. Win the Super Bowl," Green added. "Look at the year Julio had. He was coming off an 1,800-yard season and he had what last year? (1,409). That’s because they put all the weapons around him. He still made the same plays he made when he had the 1,800 yards, but when they double-teamed him they had (Sanu) and (Tyler) Gabriel. They’ve got to respect those guys. They went to the Super Bowl and Julio had (1,400) yards. It’s all about what you want. That’s the ultimate goal is to win the championship."
Both Green and Jones entered the NFL as high draft picks in 2011 and their careers have been fairly similar, with one key point of differentiation being their disparate success in the playoffs. Jones played in the Super Bowl last season; Green has yet to win a playoff game.
- With h/t to NFL.com
