Cleveland Browns: A.J. Green has a chance to shine if Denzel Ward is out

Rookie A.J. Green has been called up from the practice squad and could make a case for a regular roster spot if he does play.

There was a lot of hype coming off of rookie cornerback A.J. Green after the Cleveland Browns picked him up following the 2020 NFL Draft. Green was signed to the richest rookie undrafted free agent contract in franchise history and was seen as someone who could make the Browns roster coming out of training camp. Unfortunately, he didn’t do enough to impress and was instead designated to the practice squad instead. Poor play and injuries to the secondary have caused things to shift and with Greedy Williams out for today’s game against the Washington Football Team, and Denzel Ward a game-time decision, it looks like Green will get a chance to show what he can do.

It should be emphasized that he’s an undrafted free agent for a reason. He’s not a No. 1 overall pick and his impact on the game could be menial at best. That said, the secondary has been garbage through the first two weeks, and any sort of consistency or play-making ability that Green flashes might be enough to get the Browns to re-think his status beyond this week.

As for right now, Green is set to be sent back to the practice squad come Monday. The reason for that is due to the new rules for this season. A team can protect four players every week from being signed by other teams and can “call up” one of those four to suit up for the game without having to make a roster move. The Browns can bring him over to the main roster permanently, however, they’ll just have to open up a roster spot.

Green had some issues tackling in college according to his pre-draft analysis from Draft Network’s Kyle Crabbs. If he’s able to show the talent that made him a starter for three seasons at Oklahoma State and make sure fired tackles along the way, Green may just make the move to the 53-man roster. After all, it’s not like it’ll be hard to outplay this secondary.