In his first season with the Arizona Cardinals, A.J. Green will be looking to recapture some of the greatness he once had out on the field.
After 10 years with the Cincinnati Bengals, A.J. Green has taken his talents to the desert where he will be suiting up for the Arizona Cardinals during the upcoming 2021 season.
Not too long ago, Green used to be one of the most dominant wide receivers in the NFL. But during the last few years with the Bengals, injuries and poor quarterback play resulted in the veteran receiver not putting up the impressive numbers that he typically did in the past.
So now, Green is hoping a change of scenery, and getting to join an offense that might be better suited for his abilities, will translate into him becoming one of the top wide receivers in the league again.
Will A.J. Green be able to return to greatness with the Arizona Cardinals?
We’ve talked in the past about how Green’s performance during the last few years might be an indicator of him potentially not making much of an impact for the Cardinals in 2021. But there is also another side to this spectrum.
Back in 2007, Randy Moss was coming off a very disappointing season with the Oakland Raiders that saw him only haul in 42 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games. After this, there was a good amount of people who wrote Moss off and felt he was past his prime.
But then, the New England Patriots acquired the All-Pro wide receiver from the Raiders in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick, and, at the age of 30, Moss proceeded to go out and finish with one of the best seasons in his entire career.
With the Patriots in 2007, the Hall of Fame receiver ended the season with 98 catches for 1,493 yards and an NFL record, 23 touchdowns. Moss continued to put up impressive numbers for New England in 2008 and 2009 before the team eventually decided to trade him in 2010.
No one is sitting here saying that Green is the current version of Moss. But the new Arizona receiver is capable of doing something similar to what the Hall of Famer did in 2007 with the Patriots.
Is Green about to set the new single-season league record for touchdown catches? Probably not, but him finishing the 2021 campaign with at least 70 catches, 1,000 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns is something that is completely believable.
Green certainly sounds excited about his new opportunity with the Cardinals and hopefully, that excitement translates into him becoming an important part of the team’s offense in 2021.