The Cincinnati Bengals have placed A.J. Green on season-ending injured reserve, the team announced Saturday.
The team also signed Trey Hopkins from the practice squad to take Green’s roster spot. The move comes ahead of Sunday’s season finale vs the Baltimore Ravens, a game Green had already been ruled out of.
Green, who just finished his sixth NFL season, caught 66 passes for 964 yards and four touchdowns in essentially nine games this season. He suffered a hamstring strain in game No. 10 (Week 11) that led to him missing the final six games this season.
This season will mark the first time Green has failed to record 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Had he hit that mark this year, Green would have joined Randy Moss as the only players in NFL history to have six-straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin their career.
With Green out, that has allowed Hopkins to come from the practice squad and possibly play in the regular-season finale, which would be his first career appearance. He has yet to be active on gameday in an NFL game after spending most of his first three seasons either on I.R. or on the practice squad.
As an undrafted rookie in 2014, Hopkins impressed coaches and fans in training camp and the preseason before a leg injury ended his season, and sent him to I.R. In 2015, he impressed enough to earn a spot on the practice squad, where he spent the entire season.
Hopkins actually made the 53-man roster earlier this season, but was waived when the Bengals claimed KeiVarae Russell off of waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs. Hopkins has been on the practice squad since then. He now joins the 53-man roster with guard Clint Boling (shoulder) on I.R., so playing time could be available on Sunday vs Baltimore.