Fantasy Football update: Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green to play vs Tennessee Titans

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green told reporters Thursday morning that he plans to play in Saturday's game against the Houston Texans.

Green has been sidelined for the past four games with a Grade 2 right hamstring tear suffered on the second play from scrimmage in a Week 11 loss against the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 20.

"It's big," Green said. "Like yesterday I was very excited to get back out there (at practice)," Green said. "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) are missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season, Green never intended to shut it down 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 was voted to his sixth straight Pro Bowl this week and is 36 yards shy of his sixth consecutive 1,000-yard season. Before getting hurt, Green averaged a career-high 96.4 yards per game.

Green's declaration about a return occurred a day after teammates said he was playing.

"It shows what kind of person and teammate he is," quarterback Andy Dalton said.