Like William Gay and Mason Rudolph before him, Kendrick Green has become the butt of every Pittsburgh Steelers fan’s joke. Of course, much of the criticism has been warranted. Thrown to the fire as a rookie, Green slogged his way through a miserable rookie year, was benched by the end of it, and then didn’t play a single snap during his sophomore season.
While Green’s easy to write off and he’s certainly fighting for his roster spot life, Offensive Line Coach Pat Meyer sees him making strides. And he’s not counting him out.
“I see the improvement,” Meyer said via the team’s PR department. “Oh yeah, I see the improvement.”
Green has been getting backup center reps during OTAs though he’s far from the only one. As we wrote about earlier, he’s one of four to five players rotating in behind starter Mason Cole, including free agent acquisition Nate Herbig and 7th round rookie Spencer Anderson.
If Green is going to beat the odds and stick, it’ll be as a backup center. While he was initially more comfortable at guard, his primary position at Illinois, he’s too small to play there in Meyer’s system. Thar leaves center as his most logical choice. There’s also less depth at center than guard, which can give Green a chance to get reps and carve out a role, albeit in a backup position.
Green’s tape has largely been rough throughout his career. But Meyer, who wasn’t hired until Green’s sophomore season, sees positive moments on tape.
“You could go back and watch the film and say he did some good things,” he said. “He did a lot of good things to learn from.”
In small pockets of time, Green has flashed the rare athleticism and mean streak that got him drafted. More experience has given him additional time to refine his technique and learn the NFL as opposed to 2021 when – ready or not (and he definitely was not) – he became the team’s Maurkice Pouncey replacement.
Still, Green has fallen out of favor at every turn. Losing his center job to J.C. Hassenauer as a rookie. Easily defeated by Kevin Dotson in the left guard competition last summer. Now, he’s fighting just to be a backup. It’s an uphill battle but one Meyer sees Green competing for.
“I can see the improvement daily (from) Kendrick,” he said.
Specifically, Meyer cited Green’s desire to ask questions and get better as to how he’s improving. Pittsburgh’s young players, from Green to defenders like Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., have been an inquisitive bunch this offseason. For Green, he’s spent plenty of time around Cole during OTAs.
“He’s always asking questions,” Meyer said. “‘Hey, what about this? How do I do this?’ I see him talking to Mason all the time, asking to other guys, ‘How would you approach this block?’…For a young man like him, it’s invaluable to have somebody like Mason.”
Odds are, Green is off the Steelers’ roster to begin 2023. If he does make the team, it’ll be as a backup and potential weekly inactive, as was the case throughout last season. But if there’s a cautionary tale to be told as Gay and Rudolph went from laughingstocks to players fans came to like and respect.
