A.J. Green not happy that Bengals sidelined him for remainder of 2016 season

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green was hopeful he’d have the chance to return from a hamstring injury to play before the 2016 season ended. But with the team eliminated from the postseason race, the Bengals will sit the star receiver instead. And Green is not happy about the decision, according to ESPN’s Bob Holtzman.

The report says that the coaches anticipated Green playing all week, but Bengals ownership decided Friday that he would not play.

A source told Holtzman, “The rug got pulled out from under us.”

Green, 28, suffered the hamstring tear in Week 11 and missed the last four games for the Bengals, but he planned on a return. After participating in practice on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday, Green practiced fully on Friday and was listed as questionable.

However, the injury was worse than just the hamstring tear:

On Tuesday, Green told reporters he was ready to go:

If Green doesn’t play again during the 2016 season, it’ll be the first time in his career that he finishes with under 1,000 receiving yards. In 10 games, Green tallied 66 receptions for 964 yards with four touchdowns.

But Cincinnati is just 5-8-1 and eliminated from the playoff hunt, so there isn’t much incentive for the team to rush back its most dangerous offensive threat and risk further injury. The Bengals finish the year as spoilers with games against the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens and the chance to severely damage the postseason hopes of each.

Still, the decision irked Green who was reportedly pulled from a team meeting and told the news that he wouldn’t play again this season.

Despite missing time, Green was named to his sixth Pro Bowl in his six NFL seasons. He signed a five-year, $70.176 million deal with the Bengals in September 2015 that will keep him under contract with the team through the 2019 season.