Is recently retired A.J. Green a Pro Football Hall of Famer?

Wide receiver A.J. Green recently announced his retirement after 12 seasons in the NFL. He spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he made the Pro Bowl seven times.

Green's final two seasons in the league with the Arizona Cardinals were unimpressive, with the former Georgia star tallying 1,084 receiving yards and five TD catches.

Are Green's years with the Bengals enough to get him enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

The case for

Green was one of the best receivers in the league during his prime with the Bengals, racking up 65 touchdown catches and 9,430 receiving yards. 

He ranks fourth among active wideouts in both those aforementioned statistics over the course of his career. 

Green is comparable to Demaryius Thomas, the former Broncos star. Green has more touchdown catches than Thomas (63) but slightly fewer receiving yards (9,763). Both players were listed on Pro Football Talk Mike Florio's top 10 receivers of the 2010s decade. 

The case against

Green was always a good player but never a great player. Plus, his teams never did anything notable in the playoffs, and he only racked up one All-Pro selection (2012).

Pro Football Reference has a neat tool called the Hall of Fame Monitor that tracks a player's chances at making the HOF. This tool lists Green as having only 50.86 points in the system, less than half the total (103.63) of an "average" Hall of Fame wideout. 

Green's No. 67 PFR ranking places him in similar company with DeSean Jackson and Davante Adams. Adams may be a Hall of Famer someday, but Jackson is nowhere near HOF worthy. 

The verdict

Green is not a Hall of Famer. 

He needed a few more season's worth of solid production to make the Hall. His career tailed off after signing as a free agent with the Cardinals in 2021. 

In the playoffs, where stellar play elevates players in the eyes of media and fans, he never shined. In five postseason games, Green had 18 catches for 232 yards. 

Green will be remembered by plays like this Hall Mary TD catch in triple coverage. But he is unlikely to gain immortality in the Hall of Fame.