Are you starting to get more concerned about Pittsburgh Steelers new tight end Ladarius Green following the string of Thursday major media reports and stories? If you are, I wouldn’t really take issue with it.
As I previously posted, Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network reported Wednesday that Green is currently dealing with recurring headaches and that’s what is allegedly delaying him being cleared to start practicing as his surgically repaired ankle is reportedly not the issue.
Immediately after Kinkhabwala’s report surfaced, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk added his two cents on the matter in which he talked about a possible retirement by Green should he not be able to get over his headaches. Florio goes on to add, new speculation is that the Steelers “may eventually cut Green.”
Personally, I think that’s pretty drastic at this stage of the game, but I guess its plausible.
So, what if Green retires? As Florio astutely points out, Green would have to return the $4.75 million signing bonus that he received upon signing with the Steelers this past March. Should, however, the Steelers have to cut Green, they could possibly make an attempt to recoup some or all of that signing bonus if the tight end failed to disclose to them that he was still experiencing headaches at the time he was signed.
Late last September, Green reportedly admitted he was still experiencing headaches after the San Diego Chargers game against the Cincinnati Bengals. According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, he called them “little” and said “it’s getting better every day.”
Green was then reportedly diagnosed with a concussion after that game after admitting he was experiencing headaches.
Immediately after he signed with the Steelers, Green was asked about the three concussions he had suffered during a span of 10 months with the Chargers during his first official session with the Pittsburgh media.
“It came out as a concussion but I just had sinus problems, so it wasn’t a concussion,” said Green in March. “It was just the sinuses that got bad and they didn’t know about it so it’s fine now.”
Due to this recent rush of news about Green, I suspect Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will be asked about the Kinkhabwala headache report immediately after the team’s Friday night preseason opener at Heinz Field against the Detroit Lions. Tomlin was asked on Wednesday whether or not Green was close to coming of the team’s Active PUP list and the head coach replied, “He’s still on PUP.”
Tomlin’s Wednesday answer, combined with the way he answered questions all last season about then-injured center Maurkice Pouncey, can easily lead one to believe that there’s more to Green’s current status than just his surgically repaired ankle. For now, we’ll have to wait and see just how much information Tomlin gives Friday night.
Green signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the Steelers and that not only included the aforementioned $4.75 million signing bonus, but a base salary in 2016 of $1.25 million. The young tight end is also scheduled to earn $5 million in 2017, should he still be on the roster.
Keep your fingers crossed that Green can quickly overcome whatever it is that is currently keeping him from practicing as the Steelers certainly can use him in their starting lineup this season now that Heath Miller has retired and Matt Spaeth was released due to a troublesome knee.
