Dunlap: A Little Nervous About Ladarius Green?
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Preseason football is pretty useless.
That is, unless you're a degenerate gambler, a person who can't get tickets to regular season games, someone who makes their living selling concessions or the such inside the stadium, a down-the-liner fighting for one of the few available roster spots or a guy who just caught on with a new team and could use some game action to get accustomed to that playbook.
Steelers tight end Ladarius Green falls into that very last category.
He could use preseason camp and some preseason games.
The only problem? We haven't seen anything from him. Seems he still hasn't fully recovered --- or is still dealing with symptoms from --- an ankle surgery done more than seven months ago. While many others get set to take on the Detroit Lions in the Steelers' preseason opener on Friday night, Green continues on the PUP list, relatively invisible at St. Vincent according to numerous reports. There have been a few sightings of Green participating in some running drills, but other than that, not much.
Are you getting at least a little nervous about the guy who was supposed to step in and take over some of the burden for the now-retired Heath Miller? I know I am.
This is a guy who inked that four-year, $20 million contract in the offseason that had a $4.75 million signing bonus attached and he hasn't even been getting as much work as the kickers in training camp. That's a problem. A huge problem.
On top of that, he isn't just set to take up some of the slack for anyone, but for the Miller, the greatest tight end in Steelers history who caught 592 passes in his career, including 60 last season.
I know the worry grows every day for me that I hear Green continues on that PUP list. How about you?
Certainly there is a measure of confidence in Jesse James, the second-year tight end from Penn State who made strides in his rookie season. But there is no way he was supposed to step in this year and pick up the brunt of the burden for Miller; that job was supposedly going to go to Green.
And to this point, everything with Green has been shrouded in mystery except one undeniable truth: He hasn't been the field and there are no signs he'll get there any time soon.
This is a Steelers offense that is supposed to be so potent, so forceful and excitable. But right now there is a huge question at tight end. And Green, the man who was supposed to be the answer when Heath Miller retired, makes the questions grow even deeper as opposed to being that answer he was supposed to be.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
