National Football League

Bengals receiver Greg Little criticizes Browns

Published Nov. 4, 2014 3:09 p.m. ET

foxsports

CINCINNATI (AP) Receiver Greg Little will be trying to make a point when he plays against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

Cleveland released Little in May after his three inconsistent seasons there. The Cincinnati Bengals signed him to bolster a group of receivers that's been thinned by injuries.

Little has four catches for 55 yards in three games with Cincinnati (5-2-1), which hosts the Browns (5-3) with first place in the AFC North on the line.

Little is still unhappy over how the Browns let him go and has been eager to play against them.

''It means a lot,'' Little said on Tuesday. ''I said before: Everything about this game is personal to me. I'm going to go out and lay it on the line.

''They cut me. They said that I wasn't good enough to play on their team. That's about all I need.''

Little said he didn't get along with first-year Browns coach Mike Pettine in the short time he was in Cleveland before the receiver was released.

''Pettine doesn't talk to any of his players,'' Little said. ''You will walk past him in the hallway and he doesn't even speak to you, so to have that type of relationship for a coach is kind of odd.

''I can't go out and say that I'm going to lay it on the line for a guy that won't even speak to me if we are the only two people in the hallway.''

In Cleveland, Pettine said he tries to keep in close touch with his players. He attributed Little's remarks to the emotions that come with being released by a team.

''It's unfortunate that he said what he said,'' Pettine said. ''I think there are some players that probably would prefer that I not talk to them. But I like to build relationships with everybody.

''I understand the frustration. I don't like it when people say, `It's business, it's not personal.' It is personal. I agree with him. It is personal. You're talking about somebody - it's their livelihood, family was here, it is very personal when something like that happens.''

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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.

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