A.J. Green is back with the Arizona Cardinals for another year, as the veteran wideout inked a one-year deal with the club last week. The former Cincinnati Bengals star had what was probably the second-worst season of his career, as he caught 54 passes for 848 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games played. He believes 2022 is going to be different, though.
Monday, Green told reporters that he didn’t have the campaign he wanted to last year. He also said that building chemistry with star quarterback Kyler Murray is going to be important moving forward.
“There is a lot of room (for growth),” Green said, via the Cardinals’ official website. “For me, it’s communicating with him what I see, and what he wants me to do and how he wants me to run this (particular) route. I think last year there was a lacking on my part. I didn’t really communicate with him about stuff like that because I didn’t want to put a lot of stuff on his plate.
“For me, it’s being more in his face, talking together. ‘A.J. you need to do this better,’ and I’ll be like, ‘OK, I’ve got to do this better.’ Don’t be hesitant when it comes to my play. ‘A.J., you need to pick this up.’ The second year is going to be big for that.”
That lack of communication was shown in Arizona’s first loss of the season to the Green Bay Packers back in October. Down three points with 15 seconds left, the Cardinals had the ball five yards away from the end zone. Murray threw a pass to Green on the far right side of the field, but he did not see the ball coming. Packers cornerback — and former Cardinals practice-squader — Rasul Douglas made a great play and picked off the pass to seal the victory for Green Bay.
Murray and Green just weren’t on the same page, but Green wants to make sure those miscues don’t happen again. Him being that veteran voice at receiver is something that could help the Cardinals finish out next year in a stronger fashion.
