Earlier on Sunday, I wrote about the 1996 trade that the Pittsburgh Steelers made that resulted in them acquiring running back Jerome Bettis from the Los Angeles Rams. At the time that deal was consummated, the NFL was entering its third season of the salary cap era. That post and research got me wondering; who was the first player that the Steelers acquired via a trade in the salary cap era? Well, after a little bit of research, the answer to that question is tight end Tracy Greene.
Greene was originally selected in the seventh round (219th overall pick) of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs out of Grambling. Below is the small tidbit on Greene that was posted in the Kansas City Star after the Chiefs drafted him.
Greene played his rookie season with the Chiefs and in seven games in 1994 he registered six receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown. That, however, would be the only season that Greene played with the Chiefs as they traded him to the Steelers in August of 1995 in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 1996 NFL Draft.
Why did the Steelers trade for Greene? Well, after losing tight end Eric Green via free agency in March of 1995, the Steelers selected tight end Mark Bruener out of Washington in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft that April. The team reportedly wanted a blocking-capable tight end to go along Bruener to help replace the loss of Green so Greene was acquired.
Green, who wore No. 84 with the Steelers, not only made the roster in 1995, but he also played in all 16 games that season and two of the team’s three playoff games. He did not, however, play against the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX as he was inactive for that contest.
As for the stats that Green put up with the Steelers in 1995, there’s not much to pass along. He was targeted twice during the 1995 season but failed to register a catch. He wasn’t targeted at all in the Steelers two playoff games that season. And if Green made any plays on special teams in 1995, I have yet to find any record of them.
Green did, however, touch the football once during the 1995 season and that came on a kickoff return early in the second half of the Steelers in a Week 15 home game against the New England Patriots. You can watch that 7-yard kickoff return below.
While Greene remained with the Steelers after the 1995 season, he was ultimately waived by the team in August of 1996 and thus prior to the start of the regular season. After Green was jettisoned by the Steelers, he did not find a new team until after the 1996 regular season had ended. He signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in December of 1996, but they waived him in July of 1997.
So, there’s some useless Steelers trivia for you on this June Sunday and Greene’s name should be easy to remember as well. Maybe this bit of trivia will win you a beer in a bar one day.
