Titans ideal trade targets from the Cincinnati Bengals
1. A.J. Green, WR
A.J. Green is a player who just cannot escape the rumor mill and despite trying to commit to playing his entire career in Cincinnati, the Bengals just won’t pay him.
Like Andrew Whitworth was when he left, there is no doubt about it that if the Bengals let A.J. Green go, they will be losing a top-5 player at that position.
In his 9-year career, Green has eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark six times. Basically, if he’s healthy, he’ll get you around 90 catches and 1,000 yards, but you may notice the recurring theme of “when he is healthy” and that is there for obvious reasons.
Add in the emergence of Tyler Boyd, and Green’s contract dispute with the Bengals, and it would be reasonable to assume this is the time that Green finally gets moved.
Green is set to play under the franchise tag in 2020, so essentially he’s under a 1 yr/$18 million deal. The Titans have around $22 million left in cap space, so the financials shouldn’t be a problem here.
If the Titans think Green is healthy and could propel the team towards contending for a Super Bowl in 2020, I can see them going for it. Considering Mohamed Sanu fetched the Falcons a 2nd-rounder, I assume it would take at least that to pry Green away.
That seems like a high price for an older, injury-prone receiver, but if the move put the Titans’ offense over the top, it would definitely be worth it.
If that is too rich for you, maybe wait until midseason before the trade deadline. The Bengals play the Chargers, Ravens, Browns, and Eagles in four of their first five games. If they are sitting at 1-4 looking up at the Ravens, Browns and Steelers, why not send A.J. Green to the Titans for a 3rd round pick?
They get to start focusing on building an offense around younger receivers, Green goes to a contender who will pay him and Cincinnati gets a 3rd round pick without worrying about restricting their free agent spending and waiting a year (like they would if they wanted the compensatory pick).