A.J. Green announces retirement from NFL, a legendary career minus a ring

Former Georgia football standout A.J. Green announced his retirement from football today, leaving without a coveted Super Bowl ring despite a career for the ages.

Green posted the announcement on his Instagram page.

In 12 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals, Green caught 727 passes for 10,514 yards and 70 touchdowns. Despite playing alongside receivers such as Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, and Antonio Brown, Green is often considered one of the best wide receivers of his era.

Green, a native of Summerville, SC, came to Georgia in 2008 as a five-star recruit. He was the No. 9 overall recruit in his class according to Rivals.com and the second-best receiver behind only Julio Jones.

He made an instant impact during his freshman year, recording 963 yards and eight touchdowns while playing alongside future first-round picks Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno on offense. His 6 ft. 4 in. frame allowed him to win one on one coverage matchups with ease and make some insanely athletic catches that fans still talk about to this day.

Green went on to finish his Bulldog career with 2,619 yards and 23 touchdowns, which ranks third and second all-time in UGA history.

Former teammate Aaron Murray wished Green well and remembered his favorite play while with the Bulldogs.

He was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. In his rookie year, he began a stretch of five straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards. He also made the Pro Bowl every year from 2011-2017.

Despite their success in the regular season, the Bengals failed to win a playoff game during Green’s tenure with the team. He spent the last two seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, where he experienced moderate success.

You still see some Georgia fans rocking No. 8 jerseys on gameday and in public. Green’s career at Georgia and in the NFL was a memorable one, and fans will have plenty of fond memories from his playing days to reminisce about forever.