Welcome to Pittsburgh Ladarius Green

The Steelers have inked former Chargers TE Ladarius Green to a Four Year Contract.

BY DAVE BRYAN MARCH 9, 2016 AT 09:23 PM wrote:

It appears as though the Pittsburgh Steelers have indeed signed tight end Ladarius Green and it’s a four-year deal worth $20 million, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Green received a $4.75 million signing bonus as part of the deal.

Green, who played his college football at Louisiana–Lafayette, was drafted 110th overall in the fourth-round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers.

The Steelers signed Green to help fill the void at the tight end position that was created when veteran Heath Miller retired a few weeks ago....

Article credit to Steelers Depot, rest of the article linked here:

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/03/steelers-sign-te-ladarius-green-to-four-year-contract/

Like this signing:-

1) He can catch and he is fast. He just didn't get the chance to show it because a future HOF TE was in front of him. Even when Gate was down, he was mainly used as a blocker because the Chargers blocking was so terrible. When he's on the field, Ben would have 5 targets who could run 4.50 (Brown, Bryant, Wheaton, Green and Bell).

2) He won't turn 26 until May which means the Steelers likely get his peak years.

3) The contract is very good when you compare it to Allen and Fleener. No overpay (as usual).

4) The Steelers don't have to pick a TE in the coming draft.

5) His blocking IMO is a question mark but he at least can block and is used to blocking which is an important part for any Steelers TE.

He's not Heath Miller but the Steelers won't get another Miller. Green is as good as the Steelers could get when you take everything into considerations.

kan_t wrote:

Like this signing:-

1) He can catch and he is fast. He just didn't get the chance to show it because a future HOF TE was in front of him. Even when Gate was down, he was mainly used as a blocker because the Chargers blocking was so terrible. When he's on the field, Ben would have 5 targets who could run 4.50 (Brown, Bryant, Wheaton, Green and Bell).

2) He won't turn 26 until May which means the Steelers likely get his peak years.

3) The contract is very good when you compare it to Allen and Fleener. No overpay (as usual).

4) The Steelers don't have to pick a TE in the coming draft.

5) His blocking IMO is a question mark but he at least can block and is used to blocking which is an important part for any Steelers TE.

He's not Heath Miller but the Steelers won't get another Miller. Green is as good as the Steelers could get when you take everything into considerations.

I completely agree. Jesse James and Matt Spaeth will perform the traditional Heath Miller role. Ladarius Green was brought in to be a playmaker. We already have the fastest WR corps in the league, now we're adding a TE that can stretch the field as well. Scary to imagine just how good this offense can be. I think this is an excellent signing that's going to pay a lot of dividends going forward.

Smart move by Colbert.  Maybe it allows him to focus on the secondary in the draft.  

I'm glad you guys had some analysis about him because I knew nothing (probably because of associating the words TE, SD, and Gates).

I was going to check his Madden ratings and compare him to Heath.

WOW! Didn't even know he was on the board to be signed.

I like this and I know its a good pick up because I had him in fantasy last year and he was getting me some TD's when Antonio Gates was out.

Good solid pick. Maybe the Steelers will utilize a 2 tight end set more with JJ on the field. I am betting the Steelers pick a Safety first round and CB in the second unless Apple is on the board then reversed.

Young kid with big potential, I like. Though he doesn't fit the traditional Steelers TE mold does he? 238 lbs is a little light. Steeler TE's are usually around 260+

But like someone above pointed out, he was probably brought here to be a playmaker. 4.5 speed at TE is stuff linebackers have nightmares about

See, this is why I love the Steelers. Excellent free agent signing, without breaking the bank. Him and Bell will give LB's nightmares! GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!

the fact Green is not a prototypical "blocking" TE we are used to having, that tells me the steelers will be pass pass pass pass more than ever.

I think these signings we have seen set up our draft for Defense, Defense, Defense, oh and a Tackle if they don't re-sign Beachum.

Smart signing. This is one I think we could look back on like we did with Ryan Clark and James Farrior. I know SD has sentimentality with Gates but given they're far from contending they really should have made the effort to keep the young guy with upside rather than the old guy.  NO disrespect to Gates who is an all time great but that's why they're the Chargers and we're the Steelers I guess. Welcome to the team Green.

Watching highlights at YouTube he looks like a WR..a really big WR. We have an incredible number of weapons on offense, definitely a pick your poison, Ben gets the tall receiver he's wanted.

type of TE Ive been wanting the Steelers to get speed and more speed. 2 TE set not really.

Yeah I think defensive coordinators are going to have nightmares trying to come up with ways to stop this offense.



Tall, has enough speed to burn backers, good hands, runs good routes, could be a little crisper sometimes in that regard though. Can make difficult catches in traffic, and snatches the ball out of the air with his hands. Productive despite competing for snaps with the likes of Antonio Gates.

In summation I think the Chargers made a huge mistake letting this guy go. He hasn't hit his ceiling yet. Antonio Gates' production, despite his age, kept Green from showing his full potential. I really think this kid could be something special for us.

Some Red Zone help we desperately need.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Yeah I think defensive coordinators are going to have nightmares trying to come up with ways to stop this offense.

Tall, has enough speed to burn backers, good hands, runs good routes, could be a little crisper sometimes in that regard though. Can make difficult catches in traffic, and snatches the ball out of the air with his hands. Productive despite competing for snaps with the likes of Antonio Gates.

In summation I think the Chargers made a huge mistake letting this guy go. He hasn't hit his ceiling yet. Antonio Gates' production, despite his age, kept Green from showing his full potential. I really think this kid could be something special for us.  

Biggest complaints about him were two things:

1. Blocking skills subpar - one Chargers fan said "Wait till the chorus of boos rain down when a pass rusher gets around him and he is standing there with his hands up wondering what happened"
   
2. Didn't really develop as predicted - by the stats, his production fell off past game 4. However, the Chargers O was awful (28th in the league). Thinking back to the game with them, we got great pressure on Rivers all game.
   

I think it's a great pickup nevertheless. If we use him as a receiving TE, Ben will have both Bell and Green as check downs. Think of it: Ben drops back. Brown, covered. Bryant, covered. Wheaton, covered. You still have Green and Bell to look to, and even go through the 1 and 2 WR reads again to see if they got open.

If the O-line can protect, Ben will have big numbers.

McCoy: Ladarius Green has bright future with Steelers

By Chris Wesseling
Around the NFL Writer
Published: March 23, 2016

After a decade of Heath Miller's all-around excellence, the Pittsburgh Steelers are counting on recent acquisition Ladarius Green to stretch the field with his dynamic speed at tight end.

The presence of future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates might have prevented Green from reaching his ceiling in San Diego, but Chargers coach Mike McCoy is confident that a breakout season is on the horizon.

"He's got a bright future in Pittsburgh," McCoy said this week, via ESPN.com. "Can't say enough good things about him. That was not an easy decision."

Green was highly impressive on game film last season, hauling in a career-high 37 passes for 429 yards despite playing just 27 percent of the Bolts' offensive snaps.

Why is McCoy so bullish on Green's potential?

"His knowledge of the game, and the big thing is his playmaking ability," McCoy continued. "A very talented player in the passing game."

The Steelers are going to flood the field with playmakers such as Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Green and perhaps even second-year wideout Sammie Coates.

It will be interesting to see how defenses cover Green down the seam with a handful of other weapons drawing attention away.

"Heath was a great receiver, a great blocker. He wasn't really a stretch-the-field guy," general manager Kevin Colbert explained. "Ladarius gives you that added dimension of speed ... the speed and vertical threat at tight end is really something we haven't had."

Even without suspended wide receiver Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh's offense should give New England's a run for its money as the AFC's most dangerous.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000647214/article/mccoy-ladarius-green-has-bright-future-with-steelers

I think a lot of you guys under estimate how big his blocking will be in the WR screen game. He will get into the flat faster than Heath to get a block on DB's, which will give guys like AB, Wheaton more RAC space.

And if DB's attempt to jump the screen and come over his block, the potential for him to just run a wheel route and go upfield is frightening. He can get vertical much faster than Miller. Don't get hung up on any inline blocking like Spaeth and James provide...he's a different type of player.

If I was Haley, I could be so much more creative with a TE like him on the field.