A.J. Green says he'll play, five weeks after hamstring tear

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green says he will play Saturday against the Houston Texans.

Green has been out since suffering a Grade 2 hamstring tear two snaps into the Bengals' Week 11 game against the Buffalo Bills.

"It's big. Like yesterday, I was very excited to get back out there [at practice]," Green said Thursday. "Not playing for that long, no matter what our season is, I'm just happy to get back out there with my teammates."

Although the Bengals (5-8-1) have been eliminated from the playoffs, Green said there was never a thought to end his season early.

"I'm not the type of guy to try to just shut it down, just to bail on my team because we're not having the season we wanted to have," he said. "That's like a cowardly move to me. If I'm healthy, I'm going to play. And I feel like I'm healthy."

Green, who was voted to his sixth straight Pro Bowl this week, is 36 yards away from his sixth straight 1,000-yard season. He was having one of the best seasons of his career prior to the injury, and his 96.4 yards per game is a personal best.

He said he is not sure if he will play in the Pro Bowl and will see how his hamstring feels at the end of the season.

"I wouldn't put myself in jeopardy of coming back and hurting myself in the Pro Bowl and not being able to be ready when it's time for us to go back to work," Green said. "I'll see after the season. I'll see how I feel, and we'll go from there. ...

"If I'm healthy enough to play, I'll play, but I wouldn't push it."