May 19, 2017 5 min read

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No sooner had the Steelers released tight end Ladarius Green Thursday over a failed physical than the critics started sniping.

Worst free agent signing ever, they said. At what point does Art Rooney II blame Kevin Colbert for this and the Brandon Boykin trade, another chimed in. Blame the doctors, another said.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Steelers won the AFC North and advanced to the AFC Championship last season. Or did I dream that?

And while the Steelers certainly didn’t get their money’s worth out of Green, he did help them win the division title, particularly in late-season wins over the Giants and Bengals.

In those two games, Green caught 11 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown.

It says here that the Steelers lose at least one of those two games – and maybe both – without the efforts of Green.

One less win wouldn’t have necessarily mattered. The Steelers would have still been the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. Two, however, would have meant not resting a number of starters in the regular season finale against Cleveland, opening some star players up to injury.

Green cost the Steelers $6 million out of pocket last year. Some have even suggested he also cost the Steelers a sixth-round compensatory pick.

But at least he made an impact in 2016. If that’s the worst free agent signing in team history, so be it.

It is not however, on par with Detroit’s signing of Scott Mitchell in 1994 or Washington’s addition of Dana Stubblefield, Adam Archuleta or Albert Haynesworth – the Redskins have made a lot of bad free agent signings.

@ The people calling Green the Steelers’ biggest free agent bust of all time must have forgotten about Sean Mahan and the five-year, $17-million deal he signed in 2007.

Green cost the team an average of $5 million per season. But Mahan’s $3 million per year 10 years ago is very much in that same ballpark – and maybe more considering how the salary cap has risen.

While Mahan lasted two years in a Steelers uniform and played a lot more than Green, he also did a lot more damage because he was on the field, generally stinking up the joint.

@ Some are saying the Steelers didn’t do their due diligence with Green’s concussion history.

Sources told me that Green failed his physical because of his ankle injury that required surgery last year, from which he never fully recovered.

As for the concussions, he played in 11 games after suffering his second concussion in 2015 for San Diego. That would suggest that he passed at least one concussion test, no?

If not, the Chargers should be answering some questions.

The bottom line with concussions is that we don’t know enough about them to judge whether a player is concussion prone or not.

After all, when the Steelers selected Troy Polamalu in the first round of the 2003 draft, some suggested it was a mistake because Polamalu had a history of concussions at USC.

How’d that work out?

With concussions, it’s not like you can open up the guy’s head and take a look inside.

@ Ben Roethlisberger has had concussions in his career. Antonio Brown had a famous one in the playoffs two years ago.

Both have since signed long-term deals with the Steelers.

Were those signings mistakes, as well?

@ The bottom line with free agent signings is that many times they are like buying a used car. Sometimes you get a lemon because you’re getting used goods.

It’s always buyer beware because you’re getting a player somebody else didn’t want or couldn’t afford.

That’s one reason why the Steelers don’t dive into the free agent market much.

@ Some have wondered how the Steelers will replace Green in the offense.

But Green was basically a replacement for Martavis Bryant as much as he was for Heath Miller.

Remember, the Steelers signed Green last year just a couple of days before news broke regarding Bryant’s suspension.

They wanted somebody who could stretch the field and occupy safeties to free up Antonio Brown.

Bryant will be that guy this year. And rookie Ju Ju Smith-Shuster could wind up being that player who does a lot of the heavy lifting in traffic and as a blocker in three and four-receiver sets.

@ The selection of Colin Hulba looks a little better now with the news that long snapper Greg Warren couldn’t pass his physical.

Warren was having knee issues – he has torn an ACL twice in his career – and the Steelers had a feeling he was at the end.

Turns out, they were right.

Warren’s steady presence will be missed in the locker room. You rarely ever heard anything about him because he rarely messed up.

Holba has some big shoes to fill.