Houston Texans OL Kendrick Green will have his first opportunity to face his former team in the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, and Green doesn’t seem to have any love lost for Pittsburgh. In an interview posted by Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, Green said he’s glad he’s not with the Steelers anymore.
“I’m glad it happened. I’m glad I’m not there anymore. Glad to be here, on top of that. I’m just looking at it as just another game, going out there to play my best. Just good that I’ll see some familiar faces on the other side,” Green said via Wilson on Twitter. “Got put in a pretty tough spot when I was there, and just think it’s fortunate the way it worked out.”
That’s quite the statement out of the third-year offensive guard. Pittsburgh took him in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft and started him at center his rookie year, where he was an unmitigated disaster, posting a 52.4 Pro Football Focus score and ending up on his back almost as much as he stayed upright. The team quickly ended the center experiment, and he spent last year as an inactive as a backup guard. During the preseason, Pittsburgh gave him a look at fullback in training camp, but his blocking wasn’t up to par when he played on the line, and the Steelers shipped him off to Houston for a future sixth-round pick.
I think the Steelers miss Green about as much as he misses them. He just never really could find a role and was a frustrating player to watch. He was a clear miss in the draft, and getting a sixth-round pick back for him feels like a heist by general manager Omar Khan.
Green dissing his former team could add some fuel to the fire for Pittsburgh’s defensive line. The Texans’ offensive line is already banged up, with OTs Laremy Tunsil and Josh Jones due to miss the game, so there’s going to be a lot more pressure on Green to step up and contain Pittsburgh’s front seven.
He’s obviously getting more of an opportunity in Houston than he would’ve had in Pittsburgh, so Green’s excitement for a change of scenery is understandable. But to call out the Steelers and for Green to basically say he didn’t want to be there after he was given plenty of opportunities to prove himself and failed is a pretty bold statement.
He wasn’t a natural center so playing there his rookie season and during the preseason could be the “tough spot” he was put in, but the Steelers gave Green ample opportunities to succeed. He never proved he could.
We’ll see if Green tries to make Pittsburgh regret trading him on Sunday. Going up against Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton, I wouldn’t count on that happening.
