The Pittsburgh Steelers might have taken care of one of their most pressing offseason needs, as they have signed a new tight end in Ladarius Green. The 25-year-old is leaving the San Diego Chargers since they have resigned Antonio Gates. Green has agreed to a four-year, $20 million deal with Pittsburgh and should ensure that the Steelers have a quality tight end heading into the 2016 NFL season.
Green would have always been stuck behind Gates until he is 27 years old, and the Chargers could never fully utilize his skill set effectively. Now, he will be following in the footsteps of Heath Miller who retired at the end of the 2015 season.
The former Chargers tight end will attempt to be as reliable as Miller was for Steelers starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Miller was seemingly always a bargain on the waiver wire in fantasy football and a solid option every time Roethlisberger would look for him throughout the course of a game.
Green has had his injury issues and did suffer two concussions last season, but he should be good to go for the beginning of the 2016 season. At only 25, Green has a lot of room to develop, but he has never played a full season of football. In fact, Green has only started in 11 games.
In the four seasons he was with the Chargers, Green only had seven touchdowns, 1,087 yards and 77 receptions. Most of those yards came during the 2015 season when Antonio Gates was out with an MCL injury. In 2015, Green recorded 11 starts, 37 receptions (most in his NFL career), 429 receiving yards (most in his NFL career) and a career-high four touchdowns.
Green should see a lot more targets in this heavy pass oriented offense, and it could be argued that he did receive an upgrade at the quarterback position. In addition to that, Green never had a receiver like Antonio Brown or Martavis Bryant to help take the defensive pressure off of him. Not only do the Steelers have a spectacular passing attack, but they have a dynamic running game with Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams, so Green could not have landed in a more perfect situation.
