A.J. Green’s latest injury setback, ankle swelling primed to keep him out of Week 10, if not indefinitely, is a complicated topic.
And Green’s comments don’t provide much in the way of clarity.
Green was all over the place response-wise while meeting with the media Thursday and breaking the news of his setback. One slant, which would classify as notable, as Green simply being laser-focused on the long-term instead of this season, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“You’ve got to look at the long-term picture. I’ve got to make sure I can play for another five years without having to worry about this thing, not just thinking of the now…For me, I can’t go out there when I’m not 100 percent. It makes no sense for me to put myself in that situation to where I can have another time hurting (it), just like I did my toe…”
But there’s also this, which echoes past comments from the star wideout, via The Athletic’s Jay Morrison:
There’s also the question of whether Green will just up and shut it down for the season:
In other words, besides the ankle swelling, little is clear about Green’s future — in the short and long term.
With Week 10 clearly off the table, the focus shifts to Week 11 and the presumably ongoing extension talks.
But as has been the case with this team all season, things could change on a dime in a matter of hours, with each day seemingly bringing up something new and unexpected.
