A.J. Green Wants to Play in NFL Until He’s 36

May 30 (UPI) — Wide receiver A.J. Green has been to the Pro Bowl in all six of his NFL seasons.

He recently told the team website he wants to play seven more years.

Green, 28, is easily one of the best wide receivers in the game. The Cincinnati Bengals star played in a career low 10 games last season, missing out on 1,000 yards by just 36 yards. He eclipsed the yardage milestone in each of his five previous seasons.

The No. 4 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft signed a five-year, $70.1 million contract in 2015. He is due $10.3 million in 2017, $10.5 million in 2018 and $11.97 million in 2019.

Green was cleared for the teams’ offseason program in March after suffering a torn hamstring. He landed on injured reserve with the injury on Dec. 31, ending his season early.

This season, Green has arguably the best supporting cast of his career. The franchise went offense heavy in the first few rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft by taking John Ross and Joe Mixon in the first two rounds. The franchise also snagged wide receiver Josh Malone, running back Brandon Wilson and tight end Mason Schreck in the later rounds. Last season the Bengals used a second-round pick on wide receiver Tyler Boyd. The Bengals snagged Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert in the first round and running back Giovani Bernard in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

“We’re going to have new guys out there,” quarterback Andy Dalton told WCPO. “I think we’ll be faster with the guys we’ve added. I think with the speed and the qualities these guys bring, we may be able to do a little more.”

Green remains the Bengals’ best weapon. He came in at No. 16 on the NFL Network’s Top 100 players of 2016. He will likely rank as one of the league’s best again this season, when the top 40 players are announced.

With so many young weapons entering the fold, Green feels responsible for stepping up as a leader.

“The 2011 class is going to be the leaders around here,” Green told the team website on May 8. “I feel like we’ve still got to be more vocal for some of the young guys. I think we’re ready to step up. Clint’s [Boling] one of the leaders in the offensive line room, then Andy and I being the leaders of this offense, I feel like we’re going to have to step up to be more vocal…That’s one thing, we always draft well and having Clint and Andy, I feel like we’ll be great leaders.”

Green came in as Pro Football Focus’ fourth-highest-graded wide receiver last season among 115 qualifiers. His 50 percent catch rate on deep balls was the second best in the NFL for wide receivers with at least 20 deep targets.