After just one season in Pittsburgh, the Steelers have given up on Ladarius Green.
The team announced on Thursday that the tight end has been released after playing in just six games for the Steelers during his lone season in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers don't make many huge mistakes in free agency, but Green will definitely go down as one of them. When the Steelers originally signed Green back in March 2016, the hope was that he would be able to replace Heath Miller, who had recently retired.
Green, who was given a four-year, $20 million contract, was expected to contribute to the team right away, but that never happened. Due to offseason ankle surgery and a lingering concussion issue, Green wasn't able to make his debut in Pittsburgh until Week 10.
Although he was able to stay on the field for six straight games between Week 10 and Week 15, Green wasn't able to finish the season after suffering another concussion in December.
Green finished the season with 34 catches for 304 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the fact that he missed 10 games, Green was still paid handsomely. The tight end pulled in a total of $6 million for the six games he played in (earning a $4.75 million signing bonus plus a 2016 base salary of $1.25 million). Green was schedule to make a base salary $5 million in 2017.
The fact that Green was released came as a mild surprise, because the Steelers sounded like they were interesting in keeping him as recently as February.
During an interview shortly after the Super Bowl, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert sounded optimistic about possibly getting Green back on the field at some point.
"(We're) excited about being able to come back and play. We don't play until August, so he's got time to heal properly," Colbert said in February. "In any concussion, the one thing we do know is that you have to give it time to properly heal before you re-enter into competition. And that's where he is. He's entering the offseason. He's excited about being able to come back and being able to play."
Green signed with Pittsburgh after spending the first four seasons of his career in San Diego.
