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Arizona Cardinals Sign Wide Receiver A. J. Green to 1 Year Contract
Introduction
On Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 the Arizona Cardinals have officially announced that they have agreed upon terms to sign the former Cincinnati Bengals veteran free agent superstar wide receiver, A. J. Green, to a 1-year contract worth up to approximately $8.5 million. This is an outstanding acquisition for the rising young Arizona Cardinals who have been making a huge splash this offseason of the National Football League by keep on picking up big-name players to add to their team roster.
Contract Details
This one-year contractual agreement for up to around $8.5 million includes $6 million in total guaranteed money. Although the deal does not include a signing bonus, it does possess incentives allowing Green to ultimately make approximately $8.5 million. A. J. will now once again become an unrestricted free agent following this upcoming 2021-2022 season of the National Football League. The Arizona Cardinals have to be extremely happy to add one of the league’s premier pass catchers to their offensive unit of their professional football team.
Football Background
Green was born and raised in Summerville, South Carolina where he was a three – sport athlete excelling at football, basketball, as well as track and field. By the end of his high school days A.J. was recruited as one of the best high school prospects to play football at the collegiate level. Eventually he committed to and enrolled at the University of Georgia where he played wide receiver for the Georgia Bulldogs from 2008 to 2010. Following his junior year of college Green made a great name for himself playing football in the SEC, and he declared himself eligible for the 2011 draft of the National Football League.
Professional Football Career in the NFL
Green was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. This draft choice made A. J. the highest NFL drafted wide receiver in the University of Georgia Bulldogs school history. It did not take long for the super talented, fast, and strong wide out to make a lot of noise in the National Football League either. Amazingly he made seven consecutive NFL Pro Bowls from his second season in the league during the 2012 – 2013 NFL season through the 2017 – 2018 NFL season A. J. was a perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Throughout Green’s 10-year career in the National Football League all with the Cincinnati Bengals he has become of the franchise’s greatest wide receivers ever. According to the writers at ESPN, “He finished last season ranked second in Bengal’s franchise history in career receiving yards (9,430), second in touchdowns (65) and second in total receptions (649). Green also holds the team record for consecutive 10 – yard receiving games (five, 2013).”
The New Look Arizona Cardinals
Now with the undeniable and exciting addition of Green to the Arizona Cardinals their team is looking mighty tough on both sides of the ball entering the upcoming 2021-2022 season of the National Football League. Just this NFL offseason they have acquired big – name players such as defensive end J. J. Watt, wide receiver A. J. Green, place kicker Matt Prater, linebacker Markus Golden, cornerback Rodney Hudson, and others as well. Look for the Arizona Cardinals to now be serious contenders in the highly competitive NFC West and the entire National Football League for that matter during the course of the quickly approaching 2021-2022 NFL season.
List of the Arizona Cardinals’ Transactions in 2021
MARCH
- 03/17 - Cardinals agree to two-year contract with K MATT PRATER
- 03/17 - Cardinals acquire C RODNEY HUDSON and a 2021 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick
- 03/17 - Cardinals agree to one-year contract with WR A.J. GREEN
- 03/17 - Cardinals re-sign LB TANNER VALLEJO to two-year contract
- 03/16 - Cardinals agree to two-year deal with T KELVIN BEACHUM
- 03/15 - Cardinals extend tender offers to restricted free agent LB DENNIS GARDECK and LB EZEKIEL TURNER, as well as exclusive rights free agent LB KYLIE FITTS
- 03/15 - Cardinals agree to re-sign LB MARKUS GOLDEN on a two-year deal
- 03/12 - Cardinals sign CB ROBERT ALFORD
- 03/10 - Cardinals release CB ROBERT ALFORD
- 03/05 - Cardinals release K ZANE GONZALEZ
- 03/01 - Cardinals agree to two-year contract with DE J.J. WATT
FEBRUARY
- 02/17 - Cardinals sign OL BRANDEN BOWEN
- 02/16 - Cardinals promote ADRIAN WILSON to vice president of pro personnel and QUENTIN HARRIS to vice president of player personnel. Promote DRU GRIGSON to director of player personnel, and ANDREW CASKIN to pro scout
- 02/15 - Cardinals hire KELLY JONES as Chief People Officer, to start on March 1
- 02/12 - Cardinals hire DEVIN FITZSIMMONS as assistant special teams coach
- 02/04 - Cardinals sign QB COLE MCDONALD to "futures" contract
JANUARY
- 01/25 - Cardinals hire SHAWN JEFFERSON as WR coach, replacing DAVID RAIH. Promote CAM TURNER to QB coach. Add title of run-game coordinator to OL coach SEAN KUGLER. QB coach/pass game coordinator TOM CLEMENTS retires. Los Angeles Chargers hire assistant special teams coach DERIUS SWINTON to be special teams coach
- 01/20 - Cardinals sign LB JAMAL CARTER and LB DONALD RUTLEDGE to "futures" contracts
- 01/13 - Cardinals waive/injured DE JOSH MAURO
- 01/13 - Cardinals activate WR CHRISTIAN KIRK from Reserve/COVID-19 list
- 01/06 - Cardinals sign OL SHAQ CALHOUN, WR RICO GAFFORD, OL SEAN HARLOW, LB SHAREEF MILLER and DL DAVID PARRY to "futures" contracts
- 01/05 - Cardinals activate S CHRIS BANJO from Reserve/COVID-19 list
- 01/05 - Cardinals sign 15 to "futures" contracts: TE IAN BUNTING, DL MICHAEL DOGBE, WR KRISHAWN HOGAN, K BRETT MAHER, OL KODA MARTIN, S CHRIS MILLER, RB KHALFANI MUHAMMAD, CB PICASSO NELSON, WR A.J. RICHARDSON, LB TERRANCE SMITH, LB REGGIE WALKER, WR JOJO WARD, LB EVAN WEAVER, WR ISAAC WHITNEY, CB JACE WHITTAKER
- 01/04 - DL STACY MCGEE, CB JACE WHITTAKER and LB TERRANCE SMITH revert to practice squad
- 01/02 - Cardinals put WR CHRISTIAN KIRK on Reserve/COVID-19 list. Elevate DL STACY MCGEE from practice squad. Bring up CB JACE WHITTAKER and LB TERRANCE SMITH from practice squad as COVID replacements
A. J. Green’s Career Achievements, Honors, and Awards
- 3 Time NFL Second – Team All – Pro (2012, 2013, 2015)
- 7 Time NFL Pro Bowl Selection (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
- PFWA All – Rookie Team (2011)
- 2 Time First – Team All – American (2009, 2010)
- 2 Time First – Team All – SEC (2008, 2009)
- Second – Team All – SEC (2010)
- SEC Freshman of the Year (2008)
- USA Today High School All – American (2007)
Odds to Win Super Bowl LVI
According to Intertops sportsbook these are the odds to win Super Bowl LVI as of Thursday, March 18th, 2021.
| Team Odds |
|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs +450 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers +750 |
| Green Bay Packers +1000 |
| Buffalo Bills +1100 |
| Los Angeles Rams +1200 |
| San Francisco 49ers +1400 |
| Baltimore Ravens +1800 |
| Indianapolis Colts +2000 |
| New Orleans Saints +2200 |
| Cleveland Browns +2200 |
| Seattle Seahawks +2500 |
| Miami Dolphins +2500 |
| New England Patriots +2800 |
| Los Angeles Chargers +2800 |
| Dallas Cowboys +2800 |
| Tennessee Titans +2800 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers +3300 |
| Arizona Cardinals +3300 |
| Chicago Bears +4000 |
| Minnesota Vikings +5000 |
| Carolina Panthers +5000 |
| Atlanta Falcons +6600 |
| New York Giants +6600 |
| Denver Broncos + 6600 |
| Las Vegas Raiders +6600 |
| Washington Football Team +6600 |
| Philadelphia Eagles +8000 |
| New York Jets +8000 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars +10000 |
| Cincinnati Bengals +10000 |
| Houston Texans +15000 |
| Detroit Lions +15000 |
Sources:
“Arizona Cardinals agree to 1-year deal with A.J. Green; also add Matt Prater for 2 years”, espn.com, March 17, 2021.
“A. J. Green”, pro-football-reference.com, March 18, 2021.
“United States, NFL Futures, NFL 2021 / 22 Super Bowl LVI: To Win Outright”, intertops.eu, March 18, 2021.
“Transactions – 2021”, azcardinals.com, March 18, 2021.