One fullback may have retired in the midst of training camp, but the Pittsburgh Steelers may be in the process of unearthing another. We do not know if there is any correlation between undrafted rookie Monte Pottebaum opting to call it a career and third-year offensive lineman, Kendrick Green, taking snaps at fullback, but it’s sure made things a little more interesting.
The Steelers drafted Green in 2021 to play center, where he started as a rookie, and that’s still his primary position this offseason. But he’s begun to go through running back drills, as seen courtesy of the team’s own Twitter page. He’s even gotten on the JUGS machine catching passes.
So, what does this all mean? “We just kind of put that in our hip pocket”, head coach Mike Tomlin said on Saturday when asked about Green’s work at the new position. “In an environment like this, we want to see what guys are capable of doing, adding to their cause and ours. And he’s shown some flexibility there”.
One would imagine that he is still in the running for the backup center position, his main competition now seeming to be Nate Herbig, but adding other hats he can wear increases his chances of remaining on the 53-man roster. If the Steelers opt to retain Kevin Dotson as one of the reserve interior linemen, he could be looking at rookie Spencer Anderson, who can play all five positions on the line, as his direct competition.
In truth, center is the position newest to Green he’s played, first taking it up briefly during his college career, where he primarily played guard. In high school, his background was that of a defensive lineman, where he also spent some time playing the fullback position.
It’s only been a few practices, and as Tomlin made clear, a small sample size, but he has caught some passes and lain out some defenders on the move. It’s likely that they continue to take this little experiment into Tampa in the preseason opener. Then they’ll move forward from there.
We have no idea how far it will actually go. If they really intend to get serious about it, he’ll undoubtedly start dropping some weight and picking up more cardio—maybe even fielding a meeting with special teams coordinator Danny Smith and his squeaky office chair to discuss covering kicks.
Green intrigued the Steelers coming out of Illinois with visions of an athletic pulling center in the aftermath of Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement. They realized within a year that that wouldn’t work out and signed Mason Cole as a free agent to take over the starting role.
Getting work at fullback is the most positive development to happen for him on the field since arriving in Pittsburgh. “I can catch a little bit”, he said after Friday night, saying “These [hands] work a little bit from playing backyard football”.
That wouldn’t be his main feature if ever used in a real game, but as FS Minkah Fitzpatrick said, not many defenders will want to be on the other side of that load.
