A recent ESPN article going over each team’s best and worst free agent signing over the past five seasons contained an interesting name drop – Ladarius Green. He was selected as the Pittsburgh Steelers worst free agent signing, which makes sense in hindsight. At the time, however, the fantasy community was giddy with the thought of him playing for the Steelers.
Ladarius Green spent the first four seasons of his career in San Diego backing up Antonio Gates. People viewed as a high-upside guy who could be a mismatch weapon at tight end. The first three seasons of Green’s career were unmemorable, but 2015 would be different.
Gates got popped for violating the NFL Policy and Program for performance-enhancing substances and was forced to sit out the first four games of the 2015 season. Green slid in as his replacement and looked like a legitimate option. He caught 19 passes for 224 yards and two scores to open the season.
With Gates back in the fold, Green’s numbers tailed off and would finish the season with four touchdowns and 37 receptions although he finished things on IR. The Chargers still had Gates and opted to let Green walk in free agency after the season.
Ladarius Green: The sexy breakout candidate
Having proven himself to be a talented pass catcher with mismatch potential, Ladarius Green was a coveted free agent. Many experts thought he just needed volume and would blossom into a true TE1. He found himself in Pittsburgh after signing a four-year, $20 million contract, a high number no matter how you view it. The Steelers were looking to replace the steady Heath Miller who had retired at the end of the season.
Fantasy football players were buzzing when news of the signing broke. Green was an April darling as everyone tried to figure out his ceiling in the vaunted Pittsburgh passing attack. Don’t believe me? Pro Football Focus rated Ladarius Green 86 on their 101 best players list in 2016 with some championing him to be ranked even higher. Numerous other sites were bullish on him and he was a sexy breakout candidate.
It never got better than those early season fantasies about his fantasy performances, however.
In June, Green needed surgery on an ankle injury and found himself on the reserve/PUP list. He didn’t see the field until week nine of the 2016 season. It took him a few weeks to find his footing, but Green exploded for a 6/110/1 line in a week 13 victory against the Giants. A sign of things to come, perhaps?
Absolutely not. He suffered a concussion towards the end of the season and would sit out the Steelers’ playoff run. He was cut in the following offseason and hasn’t played in the NFL since.
What could have been with Ladarius Green?
If there is one thing we have learned when it comes to Pittsburgh Steeler tight ends over the years, it’s that they flash every once in a while and disappear when you need them in fantasy football.
Wistfully reminiscing of what could have been with Ladarius Green ignores the fact we probably know the answer. Even if healthy, it is hard to see him surpassing what Jesse James or Vance McDonald have done during the past few seasons. Steelers’ tight ends are sirens seducing you into drafting them. They will only lead your team to crashing along the rocky shore.
Luckily for fantasy football players, Green’s ankle injury happened earlier enough in the offseason to prevent managers from burning a sixth-round pick on him. And if they were truly lucky, they started him for his one great game during the 2016 season. Ladarius Green may have only been the next great TE sleeper for a few months, but it was probably never meant to be anyways.
