When Ben Roethlisberger was making his Pittsburgh Steelers debut in September 2004, Kendrick Green would have been in his first month of kindergarten.

Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that Green relies on Roethlisberger to reign in his tantrums on the field.

“I feel like I’m kind of an emotional player; sometimes I get really into the game,” said Green, the Steelers’ third-round pick in April. “When I do something bad, I’m screaming at myself and stuff like that. Ben’s absolutely right — (I need to) just try to ‘work on the next play’ mentality. He gets on me about that sometimes. That’s something I need to work on.”

Green’s work will be on-the-job training as one of up to four rookies who will start on offense for the Steelers in the season opener Sunday at the Buffalo Bills.

While left tackle Dan Moore Jr. inherited a starting gig, in part, via injury and tight end Pat Freiermuth is officially (per the team-released depth chart) merely a co-starter, Green joins first-round running back Najee Harris as rookies who have run as first-teamers since the start of training camp.

In Harris’ case, there was zero chance he wasn’t going to be atop the depth chart when the season opened. Green began camp in a purported three-way battle to be the starting center. He ended up, though, taking virtually every first-team rep all seven weeks of the preseason.

“He came in, and he wanted the job,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “He got the job, and that wasn’t because it was handed to him.”

Still, particularly as a player who mostly was a guard in college at Illinois, Green will make his NFL debut bereft of experience. He knows that won’t compel the Bills to go easy on him.

“It’s the NFL. Nobody cares if you’re a rookie,” Green said. “Nobody cares if you’ve been playing for 30 years. Right? We’re all one and the same. You’ve got to go out there and do your job. That’s just kind of how us and a lot of the other young guys look at it, too.”

“I feel like I’m the most athletic offensive lineman in this year’s class,” #Steelers draft pick Kendrick Green said. https://t.co/IkbwSv9533

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) May 10, 2021

Green’s relationship with Roethlisberger is vital to the success of both himself as a rookie and for the offense as a whole. Drafted after the retirement of perennial Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey, Green’s resemblance to the man he is replacing goes beyond uniform number (53) and body type. Green also matches Pouncey in having a demeanor that’s upbeat off the field and intense on it.

Roethlisberger was as close with Pouncey as he was any teammate he’s had over his 18 seasons with the Steelers. He seems to see some of Pouncey in Green.

“He’s a passionate football player; he gets going and I have to reel him back,” Roethlisberger said. “I say, ‘Hey, listen. You’re the center. You’re too important to dwell on the last play, whether that’s getting feisty with a guy or you made a mistake, or you did something really well. You have to have almost a quarterback mentality. You have to move on.’

“I’ll just try to keep my eye on guys as we go, see who maybe can’t calm themselves back down or is getting too riled up, and just do my best to bring them back into an even keel, if you will, for when we need them.”

Since his first few weeks of on-field work after being drafted by the #Steelers, Kendrick Green literally has gotten leaner and meaner. https://t.co/aCT2k9oKRL

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) August 25, 2021

The Steelers need Green, less than 4 ½ months after they drafted him, to serve as the anchor of an offensive line that’s going into a hostile environment on the road against a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

While complimenting Green’s work ethic and dedication to his craft, Canada gave a vote of confidence in Green’s readiness.

“I think his football knowledge has been great,” Canada said. “We talk about the learning curve and first game, and all of those things are certainly there. But he’s done everything we’ve asked of him, and we feel really good about where he is right now.”

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