‘2 dogs, 1 bone’ at left guard for incumbent Steelers starters Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green

There was a point about a year ago in which Kendrick Green and Kevin Dotson had the look of a pairing that could anchor the middle of the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line for a decade.

Mid-round picks in successive drafts who showed early promise, Steelers fans held hope the pair could be worthy successors to Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro.

At Saint Vincent during this training camp, though, Green and Dotson aren’t a dynamic duo at center and guard anymore. Instead, they’re a duo competing with each other in what coach Mike Tomlin likes to say is “two dogs, one bone.”

In one of the few true binary position battles of this camp, Dotson and Green are vying to see who will be the starting left guard when the regular season begins.

“He’s still my boy at the end of the day,” Green said. “We’re going to be professionals about it.

“But we both want to be a starter.”

Both were starters last season. Green, a third-round pick out of Illinois, started the first 15 games at center. Dotson, a 2020 fourth-round pick from Louisiana, started the first nine games at left guard after he’d impressed in spot duty filling in for David DeCastro and Matt Feiler at right and left guard as a rookie.

But while Green and Dotson began last season as starters, neither was by the time the Steelers won their final two regular-season games against division opponents to make it into the postseason — nor for their playoff loss at the Kansas City Chiefs.

And while injury (and/or illness) played a role in each losing his job, it was clear to both at the time as well as in the months since that the Steelers coaching staff wasn’t enamored with their play. J.C. Hassenauer was starting at center and John Leglue at left guard by the time January rolled around, even as Green (calf, covid-19) was cleared to play and be in uniform and Dotson (shoulder) was cleared to practice.

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Then, the Steelers acted quickly in unrestricted free agency to add veterans at center (Mason Cole) and guard (James Daniels). Each has taken first-team reps since (Daniels at right guard), leaving Dotson and Green to compete for the final interior starting spot.

“It’s a competition,” Dotson said. “If they are giving people reps, I’ve got to take the reps that I get and make the best of them. That’s how they are going to make their decision.”

The first- and second-team reps at left guard have been split rather evenly between Dotson and Green.

“It keeps us more on edge that way between me and ‘Dot,’ ” Green said.

The irony of the two of them competing at left guard is while Dotson is the incumbent at the position, he actually prefers another spot, and while Green is new at left guard in the pros, he prefers that position. Left guard is where Green made 29 of his 32 starts in college.

Green went so far early during camp to say he “didn’t really like playing center,” though he since walked back that statement.

Kevin Dotson is excited to get back to establishing himself as a “People Mover” at left guard pic.twitter.com/7y75IL9GgD

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) July 28, 2022

Dotson, meanwhile, said he is still getting comfortable on the left side after gradually making his way up to All-America status over a four-year starting career at Louisiana.

“I was right (guard) since 10th grade, so moving has been kind of opening up in my mentality to be able to do both sides if it comes down to it,” Dotson said. “But I am getting more comfortable at left.”

If he doesn’t beat out Green, Dotson might need to re-sharpen those skills on the right side in case he is deployed as a swing backup interior lineman. But in the meantime, each man is intent on being the starter on the left side of Cole for the first snap of the Sept. 11 opener in Cincinnati.

“We’re still splitting reps, but someone is still getting more,” Green said. “We’re just really rolling with the punches.”

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