Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger offers backhanded compliment to his own teammate

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thinks center Kendrick Green needs a position change in order to thrive in the NFL.

Ben Roethlisberger’s time with the Steelers is almost up, but he has some thoughts on the future of the organization on his way out.

Specifically, Roethlisberger gave some shoutouts to young offensive linemen. It’s just that one of those was a bit of a backhanded compliment.

Roethlisberger called Dan Moore “the left tackle of the future for this football team.”

As for center Kendrick Green? That one required more finesse.

Ben Roethlisberger gave a backhanded compliment to Kendrick Green

“I think at some point KG will get moved to guard and he will dominate this league at guard,” Roethlisberger said on 102.5 WDVE.

That’s about the nicest way Roethlisberger could have said Green probably shouldn’t be Green Bay’s starting center going forward.

The Steelers added Green in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Illinois. Even though he played most of his career in college at guard, some limited experience at center convinced Pittsburgh to give him a chance there as a rookie.

Green started 15 games but he didn’t exactly thrive. He struggled to adjust to the center role from the blocking and snapping perspective. It was simply an experiment that didn’t work.

Proof of that came on Monday with Green out of the lineup due to injury. With J.C. Hassenauer starting in his place, the Steelers rushing attack looked transformed. Najee Harris rushed for 188 yards in a career-best performance.

It’s likely Green won’t play again this weekend after landing on the COVID list. A position change to guard will have to happen over the offseason if Pittsburgh follows Roethlisberger’s recommendation.