Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is heading into the final year of his contract, but said recently that any deals signed by other top receivers in the league don’t “say anything about” what he’ll be looking for at the negotiating table.
Despite that, Green realizes that a rising tide can lift all boats. During his Friday press conference in Denver to discuss the five-year, $70 million contract he signed on Wednesday, Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said that Green was one of the first people to reach out to him after the deal was done. Green’s text message showed that he’s aware Thomas’s contract could have some bearing on his own.
“Thank you,” Green wrote to Thomas, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post.
Green said that he’s fine waiting until after the 2015 season to get a new deal and Dez Bryant getting the same years and total money from the Cowboys gives him and the Bengals an even better idea of where their discussions will be headed. Given that Green has comparable numbers to those two wideouts with one less NFL season under his belt, he may look at those deals as a jumping off point in those discussions if he puts up another year like his first four.