The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers threw money at the tight end position, it didn’t really work out so well. In fact, Ladarius Green started his lone season on the roster on the Physically Unable to Perform List due to an ankle injury from the previous season that had not healed as the team expected that it would.
While his career was ultimately ended by a serious concussion—which was also a pre-existing concern prior to signing—the fact that Eric Ebron also has an injury history and in fact had ankle surgery last year may send some bad thoughts running through the minds of fans.
But rest assured, even in the times of coronavirus, the man is already hard at work. In fact, he has employed the services of multiple trainers to get himself ready. He has posted and shared videos of some of the work that he has done with Mark Owens, a fitness and boxing coach, as well as Rischad Whitfield, the self-proclaimed ‘footwork king’ who has a legitimately impressive NFL clientele as a movement trainer.
It wasn’t so long ago that he was still talking about and posting about the rehabbing of his ankle. That makes it all the more refreshing and rewarding to see the work that he has been able to put in during recent weeks, clearly looking far healthier than he did earlier in the year.
After a disappointing season all around, but also for Vance McDonald and the tight end position in particular, the Steelers inked Ebron to a two-year deal worth $12 million, something I don’t think that too many people really saw coming.
Both he and McDonald are coming off of seasons that were marred by injury, on the heels of career years, and they are both hoping that, with the return of Ben Roethlisberger, they can form a dynamic duo the likes of which, frankly, the Steelers have never seen before—because they have never had before.
Having a pair of capable pass-catching tight ends is something Pittsburgh’s offense has never employed, though McDonald and Jesse James were both intermittently productive in 2018, on relative terms, the latter having primarily been the beneficiary of some broken plays hit down the field.
These are two legitimate, potentially imposing physical receiving threats, however, who can work both down the field and in the box. Having both of them will enable the offense to construct mismatches that they really never were able to before—if they execute it properly.
And if they can manage to keep them both on the field with regularity. But with the work Ebron is already putting in, I must admit I’m getting excited about the prospect of seeing him on the field working with Roethlisberger. And I know he is too.
