The Pittsburgh Steelers traded two offensive linemen during their final roster cuts this year. They are slated to face both of them later on in the season, or at least their teams. This week, they are very likely to see former C Kendrick Green lining up at guard for the Houston Texans after moving him for a future sixth-round pick.
In fact, he has already been forced into the lineup in recent weeks due to injuries, playing the past two games. The Texans have numerous linemen on the Reserve/Injured List already and multiple injuries to the starting lineup they are currently dealing with, so it would take a minor miracle for him not to play against his former team this weekend.
But at least his head coach, DeMeco Ryans, seems to like him. He spoke about Green during a recent press conference with members of the local Pittsburgh media, pieces of which dripped out through social media.
“Kendrick has done a really good job”, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted him saying. “He stepped in at guard for us and he’s very athletic. That jumps off the tape, his ability to get to second level. I love his tenacity and how he tries to finish his blocks off”.
I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but be amused by how he ended that sentence, praising Green for trying to finish his blocks off. After all, that is what he often did in Pittsburgh. While he tried, for example, to hit out at the second level, he rarely seemed to be successful. I’m sure that’s not exactly what Ryans meant, but it’s a phrase that will resonate with Steelers fans.
The Steelers did draft Green precisely because of his athleticism, and it’s not as though he doesn’t have that. They were seeking a replacement for Maurkice Pouncey, their perennial Pro Bowl center who had just retired, when they drafted Green in the third round in 2020. While he might have shared athletic traits with Pouncey, the size and talent level were not a match.
It has been argued that the Steelers did not do right by Green, first by throwing him into the starting lineup as a rookie, and then doing so at center, a position at which he did not have a great amount of familiarity.
While there is legitimacy to that argument, there is also the reality that we are in the third year of his career and he’s still not playing well. Granted, he was traded not even a month ago, and he’s adjusting to a new system in a new city and all that. But I’m not sure there are many people left who remain confident he will one day be a good, consistent starting NFL lineman. I have no reason to root against that; I just don’t see it ever happening. And especially not this week against the Steelers.
