5 wide receivers who are making way too much money

CLEVELAND, OHIO - DECEMBER 08: Wide receiver Odell Beckham #13 of the Cleveland Browns runs down field during the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 08, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Bengals 27-19. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

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MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 22: A.J. Green #18 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on during the game against the Miami Dolphins in the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

2. A.J. Green

A lot of Bengals fans are salivating at the idea of Green catching a lot of passes from rookie Joe Burrow this season. Those fans seem to have forgotten the reality that Green didn’t play a single snap for Cincinnati in 2019. Even more concerning is the fact that he also missed eight games during the 2018 season.

The Bengals coaching staff should be treating anything they get from Green in 2020 as a pleasant surprise. Counting on him to suddenly stay healthy for a full season is foolishness. That makes the chances of him living up his $17.865 million salary for the season very small.

In fairness to Cincinnati’s front office, Green looked to be worth every penny of this deal when he first signed it. He’s more a victim of bad injury luck than any sort of predictable age-related regression. Nonetheless, he goes down on the team’s books as a massive overpay in 2020.

Bengals fans will bristle at the idea of their franchise superstar making this list, but he couldn’t have given them any less production than he did a year ago. It will be a nice surprise if he bounces back to full health in 2020, but until he shows he can stay on the field, it’s fair to call him one of the most overpaid wide receivers in the game.

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