Texans GM Defends Kendrick Green: ‘More Competitive Than People Think’

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio defended his decision to trade a sixth-round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for beleaguered offensive lineman Kendrick Green.

The decision to add Green, who was derided by Steelers fans as a failure as a third-round pick, and who Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin called “not good enough” earlier this preseason was somewhat controversial among Houston faithful.

Caserio said they aren’t concerned with what went wrong in Pittsburgh, and that the Texans liked the traits that Green showed in he pre-draft process.

“That was a player that we did a lot of work on in 2021 when he was drafted,” Caserio said. “He had good traits, had a good playing style, good testing numbers, played a lot as a rookie.”

GM Nick Caserio on RB Mike Boone, the camp he had, the rest of the room & said they’ll continue to add depth in that room 👀 #Texans pic.twitter.com/zodlnj1bDK

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Caserio even specifically referenced the criticism lofted at the Steelers for drafting Green and playing him as the team’s center by former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in his final season in 2021.

“There’s varying opinions,” Caserio said. “He actually played probably more competitive than people think. I know there’s some some commentary made about him, specifically from the guy that played quarterback there.

“In the end, we can’t really worry about what happened somewhere else. We try to focus on where we are now and what we think he can bring the table.”

One of the big problems with Green’s tenure with the Steelers was his inability to pick up the center position. He played mostly guard in college at Illinois, but the Steelers drafted him to play center, and started him there as a rookie in 2021 to disastrous results.

They moved him to guard in 2022, and he was buried on the depth chart there. They tried him at center again this preseason, with his play the prompting Tomlin’s blunt critique, and also at fullback before finally sending him to Houston. Caserio said the Texans see Green as having the flexibility to play either center or guard.

“Has some inside flexibility center-guard, guard-center,” he said. “He’s an offensive lineman, that’s what he is.”