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Fantasy Football 2019: AJ Green to Miss up to 8 Weeks

By Bill Pivetz

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 02: A.J. Green #18 of the Cincinnati Bengals injures his foot during the game against the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium on December 12, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Broncos defeated the Bengals 24-10. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 02: A.J. Green #18 of the Cincinnati Bengals injures his foot during the game against the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium on December 12, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Broncos defeated the Bengals 24-10. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images) /
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What is the fantasy football impact of Bengals wide receiver AJ Green leaving practice with an ankle injury?

Training camp is underway and that means the beginning of a new fantasy football season is close. But along with the start of football activities comes injuries. We already heard about what happened to the Giants receivers. The Bengals now can join in on the fun with AJ Green.

During practice, star wide receiver went down with an injury. It was later reported to be more than an ankle sprain. Adam Schefter tweeted that the MRI revealed Green has torn ligaments in his left ankle. The timetable for recovery is six to eight weeks.

Ligament injuries don’t all heal the same and tend to linger into the season. If we look at the six-week mark, Green would be ready to go for the Bengals opener against the Seahawks. But if it lasts the full eight weeks, he’ll be back Week 3 against the Bills.

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Missing the first two weeks of the season should be built into Green’s fantasy value. He’s played in all 16 games four times throughout his eight-year career. When he’s healthy, he’s a beast. When he’s not, Green is a low-end WR2.

If you take the average of his four 16-game seasons, Green has 89 receptions, 1287.75 yards and 10 touchdowns. The average of his four non-16 game seasons are much worse, 61.5 catches, 939 yards and 5.75 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, we won’t know the extent of Green’s injury for a couple of more weeks. If you have a fantasy football draft coming up in the next week or two, I’d still draft Green but slide him down in my rankings a bit.

He is currently listed as the No. 14 wide receiver, ahead of Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods and Julian Edelman, based on FantasyPros rankings. I would move him below those three and even further to WR23, just behind Alshon Jeffery. Green may drop even further in PPR leagues.

Who gets a boost from Green’s potential absence? The obvious ones are Tyler Boyd and John Ross. Boyd led the team with 76 receptions and 1,028 yards. Both Boyd and Ross had seven touchdowns. I’d even throw in backup tight end C.J. Uzomah.

Boyd is a solid option regardless in season-long leagues. Ross and a healthy Tyler Eifert get a boost in DFS for the first two weeks.

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Green currently has a third-round ADP in 12-team leagues. This injury could see him slide to round four or five depending on the severity. If your league has an IR spot, I’d draft and stash. A 14-game season from Green is still better than some fifth-round receivers.

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