Captain AJ Green Appears To Have Clocked Out On The Bengals

It appears we have all the evidence needed to know team captain AJ Green wants out of Cincinnati and that he's done risking life and limb for the only NFL franchise that's ever paid him. This season, Green has been working under a franchise tag for $18 million. If Sunday is any indication, the seven-time Pro Bowler has officially clocked out and is now done with Mike Brown, Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow.

The official confirmation came during the first quarter of Sunday's game when Joe Burrow airmailed a pass to Green that then sailed right into the hands of Raven Marcus Peters. As you can see during the runback, Green made a business decision to avoid conflict and get out of dodge as quickly as possible, allowing a teammate to tackle Peters. It looked like Green was actually thinking about throwing a block to help Peters gain more yards.

BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 11: Marcus Peters #24 of the Baltimore Ravens returns an interception as A.J. Green #18 of the Cincinnati Bengals pursues during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on October 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Internet sleuths are also pointing to a video of Green on the bench during the third quarter where they believe he says "just trade me." The 32-year-old Green has been targeted 34 times through five games and has 14 receptions for 119 yards. He left Sunday's game with a hamstring issue, after running 21 routes and being targeted once.

The ability to get separation seems to be the main issue for Green. In Week 4, he was able to get just 1.2 yards of separation against the Jaguars. He had a league-worst 0.9 yards of separation in Week 3.

Things were a little better in Weeks 1 and 2, when he was at 2.2 and 1.6 yards respectively.

It doesn't take a relationship expert to know that things are about to end between Green and the Bengals. Now the GM must make a decision about how to handle a situation that could rock a young team.