Green says ankle, not concussions, keeping him off field
Quarterback Dustin Vaughan broke his thumb Thursday night in the Steelers’ second preseason game at Heinz Field.
PITTSBURGH – Steelers tight end Ladarius Green said his head is just fine, thank you very much for asking.
Green, who opened training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list after undergoing offseason ankle surgery, had reportedly been dealing with headaches. But Green said Saturday those reports are false.
“I heard about it. But I didn’t look at it,” Green said. “It’s basically news to me.”
Green was signed by the Steelers in the offseason as a replacement for Heath Miller, who retired at the end of last season. The Steelers gave the former San Diego backup a 4-year, $20-million contract knowing he had surgery on his ankle, which nagged him over the second half of last season.
General manager Kevin Colbert said early in training camp the team knew Green might not be ready for the start of training camp, but was confident the 6-6, 240-pound tight end would be available at some point in the preseason.
That has not yet happened and there had been speculation Green was suffering ill effects from two concussions suffered last September and was considering retirement.
“I’m wondering who said this. I’m only 26, so I’m not thinking of retiring anytime soon,” Green said.
Green was ramping up his rehab with team trainers in the past week. Early in training camp, he was jogging a lot with team trainers. But in the past week, he’s also starting running some patterns and catching passes, including during warmups prior to the Steelers’ preseason game Thursday night against Philadelphia.
“I’ve been doing a lot more,” Green admitted. “I’ve been on the field every day trying to run, building myself up.
“It’s still weak but it’s getting a lot better.”
The fifth-year tight end still isn’t sure when he’s going to return to the field, but he is confident it’s going to happen this season.
“Why wouldn’t I be confident about that?,” he asked. “I’m still out there training for it, rehabbing for it every day.
“The ankle’s still not 100 percent yet. I’m pushing for it. It’s getting better.”
The Steelers have been protective of starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, giving him plenty of time off during training camp practices and holding him out of the team’s first two preseason games.
With the way their backup quarterbacks have been going down, they might want to envelope the 34-year-old Roethlisberger in bubble wrap.
With veteran Bruce Gradkowski already out several weeks with a severe hamstring injury suffered in the Steelers’ first preseason game, the team learned that second-year quarterback Dustin Vaughan suffered a fracture to his right thumb in the fourth quarter of their preseason loss to the Eagles.
“I figured something had happened to it. I thought I had sprained a ligament or something,” said Vaughan, who was sporting a cast on his throwing hand at the team’s practice Saturday. “But I got an X-ray (Friday).
“I’m hoping that it heals on its own. It looks like it’s supposed to. Hopefully, I can continue to work at what I can do. Hopefully it heals quickly. I want to get back as soon as possible.”
The injuries left the Steelers with just two healthy quarterbacks on their roster, forcing the team to sign first-year quarterback Bryn Renner Saturday.
Renner, 26, played collegiately at North Carolina, where he threw for 8,221 yards and 64 touchdowns in 34 career games. But he’s bounced around the NFL after going undrafted in 2014, spending time with Denver, Baltimore, Tennessee and San Diego with a stop with the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League mixed in.
And with fourth-year quarterback Landry Jones coming off a performance in which he threw four interceptions in the first half against the Eagles, the Steelers look painfully – no pun intended – thin at quarterback behind Roethlisberger.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said all four of the interceptions were not necessarily Jones’ fault, but that hasn’t stopped many fans from panicking regarding the Steelers’ situation. And that was before Vaughan was injured.
“You just try to make it a learning experience,” Jones said of his play against the Eagles. “Things like that are going to happen. You are going to play bad. You are going to play not the way your want to. So you learn from it and move on.”
All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell said Saturday he just wants to put his most recent suspension from the NFL behind him and move on.
Bell was suspended by the NFL for the first three games of the regular season Friday for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Bell’s suspension stems from missing mandatory tests, which the league counts the same as a positive test.
Bell was previously suspended for the first two games of the 2015 season after an arrest in 2014 for DUI and marijuana possession.
“I’m sincerely sorry about everything I put everybody through,” said Bell. “It’s been a frustrating run. I own up to everything. It’s all my fault, and I can’t blame anyone else for that. I’m going to serve my suspension and move on from there.
“This is going to help me be a better person, a better player, obviously be smarter and move on. It’s definitely a learning experience. I’m not the perfect person. … Obviously, it sucks to keep having to miss time. I know everybody wants to see me play. I obviously want to play football and be out there with my teammates and help the Steelers win a Super Bowl.”
In addition to Renner, the Steelers signed guard Antoine Everett Saturday. To make room on the roster, the team released running back Christian Powell and waived/injured center Valerian Ume-Ezeoke. … The Steelers also waived defensive tackle Roy Philon from injured reserve with a settlement.