The Steelers had high hopes that adding veteran tight end Ladarius Green would bring a new dimension to an already potent offense.
Instead, he brought them real headaches, and those led to him playing just six games. He caught 18 passes for 304 yards and one touchdown in a brief Steelers career that ended on Thursday when they released him.
The Steelers signed the 6-foot-6 tight end as their premier free agent last year after he played four seasons for the San Diego Chargers. He received a four-year, $20 million contract with a $4.75 million signing bonus. He will go down as their worst signing ever in free agency.
Not only did the Steelers sign him after Green had ankle surgery in January 2016, a source told the Post-Gazette that they never fully investigated his history of concussions with the Chargers.
A surgeon reportedly inserted two metal plates in his ankle and it still was not fully recovered when training camp opened in 2016, when the Steelers placed Green on the physically unable to perform list. Sources at the time told the Post-Gazette that headaches, and not his ankle, was what kept him on PUP until he finally joined them in November to start a six-game stretch before his season ended for good with a concussion.
Green's signing cost the team $6 million, his $4.75 million signing bonus and 2016 salary of $1.25 million. They owe him no more but he will still count $3,562,500 against their 2017 salary cap because they released him before June, according to figures compiled by Over The Cap.
His signing came after Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert flew to Pensacola, Fla., on the first day of free agency in 2016 to persuade him to sign with the Steelers.
At his introductory news conference in Pittsburgh after he signed, Green scoffed at reports that concussions kept him out of some games in San Diego in 2015. He said those issues were diagnosed as "sinus problems."
The Steelers signed Green two months after tight end Heath Miller retired following a 10-year career.
"I don't want to consider myself trying to follow in his footsteps because those are some pretty big shoes to fill," Green said about Miller last year.
Green was finally cleared to practice with the Steelers and he played for the first time Nov. 13 against Dallas at Heinz Field. He had his best game in a victory against the New York Giants when he caught six passes for 110 yards and his only touchdown of the season. But two games later, on Dec. 18 in Cincinnati, he had another concussion and never played again.
Before the draft, Tomlin declined to discuss Green's health when asked for an update: "We don't have an update on any of the medical issues relative to the guys on our team," he said.
The Steelers did not draft a tight end this year. They have five tight ends on their roster, including three veterans who also were on the roster last season _ Jesse James, Xavier Grimble and David Johnson. Two undrafted rookies join them: Scott Orndoff of Pitt and Phazahn Odom of Fordham.
