Former Pittsburgh Steelers guard/center Kendrick Green has signed with the Buffalo Bills on a one-year deal. Green spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans after playing his first two years in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers drafted Green in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Green played mostly guard at Illinois, but because he is slightly undersized for the position at the NFL level, the Steelers moved Green to center, where they had a vacancy after the retirement of Maurkice Pouncey .
Green started 15 games for the Steelers in 2021, in what was considered to be an unmitigated failure. By the end of the season, he was benched for former undrafted free agent J.C. Hassenauer.
The Steelers moved Green back to guard in 2022, but with the team much deeper there, he never saw the field. In 2023, they again tried him at center and even fullback before trading him to the Texans on Aug. 29 in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.
Green was placed on injured reserve on October 4, 2023 after suffering a torn meniscus in the Texans' Week 4 win over the Steelers. In 2024, Green was active for 17 games but he made just one start.
Pittsburgh Steelers center Kendrick Green runs after catching a pass at training camp, Aug. 5, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Green will now try to get his career on track with Buffalo. He's definitely better suited for guard compared to center. That was a big mistake by the Steelers and it really hindered his development.
Offensive line guru Duke Manyweather, who has worked with many offensive linemen, ripped Pittsburgh's philosophy on the Chipped Ham and Football Podcast with Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last year. He thinks the Steelers mismanaged Green and Kevin Dotson . Dotson, who's now with the Los Angeles Rams , is one of the best guards in the NFL.
"I respect Coach Tomlin and I respect Pat Meyer, got a great relationship with both of them, and I've been very frank with them about this. Kendrick Green should have been playing left guard from the start like he is down in Houston. Kevin Dotson should have been playing right guard from the start. There's this conversation that always goes on about 'guys need to be able to play both sides,' that's bullshit," Manyweather said .
The Steelers host the Bills in 2025.
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