Football

Bengals WR A.J. Green calls Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson the best CB

Receiver A.J. Green’s career, and success, has run parallel to cornerback Patrick Peterson’s.

Both spent three years in the SEC from 2008-10 before leaving for the NFL. They went back-to-back with the fourth and fifth picks in the draft.

Both earned Pro Bowl nods in their first seven professional seasons before the Cincinnati Bengals shut down an injured Green last year, limiting him to nine games.

Safe to say they know each other well despite playing one another just four times dating back to their first year in college. Green believes Peterson, 30, remains the best in his prime.

“I feel like he’s the best corner, personally,” Green told Adam Schefter on ESPN’s The Adam Schefter Podcast. “I think he’s big, he’s fast, he has great ball skills. When you have a corner who has all those three, it’s hard to beat them.”

The two haven’t squared off since 2015, when Green finished with four catches for 79 yards on 12 targets in a 34-31 Cardinals win. Peterson had two tackles and a pass defensed in that outing.

Before that, the two hadn’t met since their rookie season in 2011. Green had two catches for 25 yards in that one, while Peterson finished with a tackle and two passes defensed.

A bit more seasoned, the two stars will get a chance to play in Arizona’s fifth game of 2019. The Cardinals visit the Bengals on Sunday, Oct. 6.

Green comes off a toe injury that made for his first career season finishing under 964 receiving yards. Peterson, meanwhile, enters 2019 with evidence of discontent in Arizona dating back to last season and playing under his third defensive coordinator in the past three years.