The routine at Chargers Park remains the same for TE Ladarius Green.
He still looks on in admiration at the precision Antonio Gates operates in the San Diego Chargers’ offense with Philip Rivers at the controls in individual and team drills. And the 25-year-old remains intently focused on improving his craft.
“My approach is the same,” Green said. “I try and work hard every offseason and every training camp. So I come into it with the same mindset, trying to get better. I started off slow, messed up a couple times yesterday, but it’s getting better.”
While Green’s approach may be the same, this year there is a heightened sense of urgency.
He’s headed into the final year of his rookie contract that will pay him $660,000 in base salary in 2015. And with his mentor Gates earning a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, the Louisiana-Lafayette product will have an expanded role in San Diego’s offense once the regular season begins.
“He’s going to have an opportunity early on to do a few more things,” Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said. “We think very highly of him. We thought that the first year we got here, not just last year or the year before. Without Antonio for a couple weeks, he’s going to have an opportunity to get more playing time. … The system is staying the same, and we’re looking forward to seeing him play more.”
Even before Gates’ suspension, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco talked about wanting to get Green more involved this offseason, the story said. Green has showed signs. A couple of productive games likely prompted fantasy GMs everywhere to put waiver claims in. But as quickly as he arrived, he disappeared off the fantasy radar. We think Green has potential to post top-five fantasy TE numbers in the Charger system for at least the first four weeks. Right now he's ranked 18th on our list overall and is going late in drafts. He could provide you with a short-term answer at your TE spot.
