On Tuesday morning the Pittsburgh Steelers officially announced the signing of edge rusher Melvin Ingram III, while also revealing that they have inked offensive tackle Chaz Green, who came into the league with the Dallas Cowboys and played for the Indianapolis Colts last season.
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Chaz Green is a Former Third-Round Pick of the Cowboys
Green entered the NFL in 2015 when Dallas made him a third-round pick (No. 91 overall) in that year’s draft.
The University of Florida product battled a variety of injuries during his time in Dallas. He spent most of his rookie season on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a hip injury, then fought through foot and back injuries during his sophomore campaign. In fact, his second year was cut short when he had back surgery (for a herniated disk) in December 2016.
Nevertheless, he managed to make 18 appearances (six starts) in two years with the Cowboys, but was waived just prior to what would have been his third season with Dallas.
Green went on to spend time with the New Orleans and Las Vegas in 2018, making four appearances (with one start) for the Raiders. In 2019 he linked up with Denver, but didn’t see any game action. Hence the one-year Reserve/Future deal he signed with Indianapolis in late December 2019, which led to 15 appearances (with one start) for the Colts in 2020.
The Steelers Have Released OT Jarron Jones
To make room on the roster for Ingram and Green the Steelers released linebacker Calvin Bundage and offensive tackle Jarron Jones. Bundage was an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State, but Jones’ release is more notable, if only because the team stuck with him longer than one might have expected.
Jones’ troubles started in October of last year when he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, strangulation and simple assault in an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend. Earlier this month, all but the simple assault charge (a second-degree misdemeanor) was dropped. But then he was re-arrested for an earlier incident involving his girlfriend, which led to him being charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment, the former being a first-class felony.
NFL Analysts Approve of the Decision to Sign Melvin Ingram
Meanwhile, it’s perhaps worth noting that most NFL analysts seem to like Pittsburgh’s decision to sign Melvin Ingram III to a one-year contract, including Pro Football Focus (PFF), which regards him as a better pass rusher than former Steelers OLB Bud Dupree, who was lost to the Tennessee Titans in free agency.
“The 32-year-old could very well end up providing the most value with respect to his contract of any free agent edge defender who signed a new deal this offseason,” offers PFF, before adding that “Ingram has won as a pass rusher on a more consistent basis than Dupree in each of the past three seasons, even as he moves away from his prime. Ingram does likely represent a downgrade against the run and can’t be relied upon to play the volume of snaps Dupree played for much of his career, but he won’t be asked to with [former 2020 third-round pick Alex] Highsmith in the fold.”
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Steelers Sign Former Cowboys Offensive Tackle, Release 2