Is Mike Tomlin telling a little white lie about TE Green?



… Green never told them about the concussions 

The signing of former San Diego tight end Ladarius Green earlier this year was looked upon by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a great move, a way to replace their most reliable TE in history, Heath Miller, with a veteran player, albeit a backup for his four years with the Chargers.

The Steelers' lame excuse 

However, for the past two weeks, Green has been running around the field that is adjacent to the main field at St. Vincent College in Latrobe instead of engaging in drills with his team. The story told by the Steelers is that the surgery that Green had on his ankle after last season, one in which a plate placed into the foot, required some more time to heal.

After their exhibition loss to Detroit last night, Mike Tomlin said this about Green: '[He] is on PUP [Physically Unable to Perform] because of his ankle."

That story is not true 

According to a story by NFL.com on Thursday, Green's agent, Adisa Bakari, contradicted Tomlin and said the tight end's "ankle is fine." The problem for Green are headaches from concussions that he suffered last season as a member of the Chargers.

Why would the Steelers be peddling a story if it is not true? Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Paul Zeiss intimates that Tomlin may be trying to cover for the Steeler front office who signed him to a four-year contract worth $20 million. That includes a $4.5 million bonus that could be recouped if Green lied about his physical condition and never plays a game with the team.

"I know it sounds heartless, but this is a business. If I were the Steelers, I’d cut Green immediately, then seek to recoup as much of his signing bonus as possible," Zeiss wrote. "There is precedent in the NFL for teams being able to get back some of a signing bonus for players who never played or practiced with the team, or, in the case of a guy like Aaron Hernandez, engaged in conduct off the field that forced the team’s hand."

San Diego proof

According to a San Diego Union-Tribune headline on Sept. 23 of last year, Green indeed had suffered concussions: "Ladarius Green suffers 2nd concussion of month."

The story by Michael Gehlkan details Green's history of concussions, including the two in September: "That means it's [Green's] second in an 11-day period and third in nine months."

The Steelers should have known this. As a result of those concussions, three in 11 months, Green would have been under the NFL concussion protocol. No doubt, he is still there.

I found this medical item in the San Diego paper using Google, and it took about 15 seconds. The Steelers should have known this before signing him to a lucrative contract.

Who is Tomlin protecting? 

Why would Tomlin lie about it? Who is he protecting? GM Kevin Colbert? Steeler medical staff? Himself?

Despite this information about the headaches being in the media over the past 48 hours, Tomlin has kept the ankle saga alive, never indicating that the concussions are the problem. "He's progressing, but we really thought it would be touch-and-go up to this point," Tomlin said on Wednesday, then reiterating it after Friday's preseason game. "The (ankle) surgery was not a routine cleanup, so we knew it would be a significant amount of time."

That quote was from NFL.com.

Conclusion

Ask any politician: It's never the crime, it's always the coverup. Richard Nixon could tell you that if he was still alive, and Bill Clinton can tell you what happens when people are not truthful.

In this case, Zeiss may be right. Cutting him and signing another tight end may be the easiest way out of this mess. It will cost them big bucks, but the constant drip-drip about this case will finally cause the team to do a mea culpa.

The Steelers have the potential to have a very good season, but distractions like this can run a train off the proverbial tracks.

Get rid of this distraction by either coming clean or simply cut Green from the squad if he is not ready for practice on Monday.

URLs 

San Diego: 2nd concussion in month

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/sep/23/chargers-ladarius-green-second-concussion/

PG Bouchette / Dulac story

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2016/08/11/Headaches-keeping-Ladarius-Green-from-practicing-with-Steelers/stories/201608110211

PG Zeise story

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/zeise-is-right/2016/08/12/Paul-Zeise-Ladarius-Green-has-lost-his-reliability-so-the-Steelers-should-cut-him/stories/201608120198

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