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Ladarius Green, the Pittsburgh Steelers' $20 million man, is no closer to joining his teammates on the field than he was when he signed a lucrative multi-year deal with the Steelers in March, according to Chris Bradford from the Beaver County Times.
Ladarius Green says no timetable on his return, still taking it day by day
— Chris Bradford (@BCTBradford) August 6, 2016
Green, who was expected to replace longtime star Heath Miller as Pittsburgh's starting tight end, has been recovering from an ankle procedure that he underwent in January. In lieu of drills, Green has reportedly been spending his free time running sprints on the auxiliary field at Saint Vincent College, the site of Steelers training camp.
Green told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler in July that he still lacks the ability to make quick cuts, though he later expressed his confidence in his status for Pittsburgh's Week 1 game at Washington. When healthy, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Green is among the league's most athletic tight ends. Despite playing behind future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates in San Diego, Green caught 37 passes for 429 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games in 2015.
Although Green believes that he will play in Week 1, the fact that he is still having issues with cutting is moderately concerning. Fortunately, Green is at least doing well to maintain his conditioning.
In Green's absence, second-year TE Jesse James has received the majority of first-team snaps, while former practice squad member Xavier Grimble has had an outstanding training camp thus far. In addition to James and Grimble, the Steelers still have plenty of offensive firepower, including All-Pro WR Antonio Brown and early MVP frontrunner Ben Roethlisberger.