There is a distinct possibility that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line will look almost completely different from just a few years ago by the time the regular season gets here. already, only four players remain from even the 2021 roster. But come kickoff for the home opener, there may be just one man left standing from 2020.
That would be Chukwuma Okorafor, who has started the past three seasons at right tackle, going into year six. The only other linemen with more than a year in the Steelers’ system under their belts are 2021 draft picks Dan Moore Jr. and Kendrick Green and 2020 draft pick Kevin Dotson. Of those three, only Moore’s roster spot is safe.
And arguably only Moore has consistently presented himself in the best light in front of the media. Both Green and Dotson have, even in recent weeks, made some comments with the microphone in their faces that got people talking in ways coaches might not generally like. And in both cases, it could probably be chalked up to plain old honesty—which Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo admits they could probably learn to suppress more often.
“Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green kind of have to learn how to deal with the media better”, he recently told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan. “Kendrick Green was very open with me and some others who did interviews last week, but you have to know the right things to say at certain times, too. Being truthful is great, but sometimes you just have to button up and take the company line, too”.
Both Green and Dotson in the past couple of years have been rather candid, arguably overly so, both their positional preferences and how being asked to move to different positions had been a burden for them. Dotson switched from right guard to left guard in year two. Green, as a rookie, was asked to play center, at which he had little experience.
There have been other comments, with Green sort of throwing the team’s former offensive line coach, Adrian Klemm, under the bus while also lamenting his lack of a proper mentor as a rookie. Dotson supposedly made some comments about not expecting rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones to start this year away from the team facility.
Will their (no doubt to some refreshing) honesty with the media cost them their jobs? No, I can’t imagine so. But the reality is that neither of them have job security right now. Green is hanging on by the skin of his teeth. Dotson has the talent to merit a roster spot but it might be a numbers game, and his salary and lack of position versatility will hurt him now that he’s—by his own admission, another thing he probably shouldn’t have said out loud—out of the starting lineup.
They may well end up competing for the same roster spot by the time all is said and done. It’s also possible that neither make the team—or even both. Time will tell on that front. But whether in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, they may want to speak more thoughtfully in front of the media in the future, for their own sakes, even if it’s good for us, since we get to write about it.
