James turns into starter at tight end

list so long was concussionrelated symptoms that the Steelers were unaware of when they signed him. When he was finally cleared to play, Green appeared in six games, caught 18 passes for 304 yards and one touchdown, and showed flashes of why the Steelers were eager to sign him and insert him into their offense.

But, after taking a hit to the head from safety George Iloka in a Dec. 12 game in Cincinnati, Green was placed in concussion protocol and never played again. So James finished the season where he began — as the No. 1 tight end — and the Steelers made it all the way to the AFC title game using two other tight ends — Xavier Grimble and David Johnson — to complement James. Not exactly what they had in mind.

“You feel awful for him,” James said of Green, who was released May 18. “He’s a great guy. He taught me a lot last year.”

The benefactor was James, a Glassport native who played at Penn State and was a fifth-round draft choice in 2014

He started 13 games in 2016, played nearly 80 percent of the offensive snaps and caught 39 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns. For a guy who dropped two easy passes in his first preseason game in 2015, James has developed into a dependable target for Ben Roethlisberger.

“I was a reliable guy,” James said.

But James said he expects to perform at a much higher level this season and “help our offense be the best one in the NFL.”

He added: “It’s not doing more of anything, it’s less mistakes. It’s to be a better communicator throughout the offense, when guys are a little lost, and, at some point in the game, being able to help more than I have in the past, help the rest of the team learn the offense and run a little more smooth.”

Given the tenuous status surrounding Green, it was surprising the Steelers did not take a tight end in the draft.

They had targeted Michael Roberts of Toledo, an Eric Green-type at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, in the middle rounds of the draft, but the Detroit Lions snagged him in the fourth round.

Through it all, there is James, rising above it all, which has nothing to do with his 6-foot-7, 254-pound frame.

“My expectations are a lot higher,” James said. “This is year three. I have a year starting under my belt. I have a lot of work to do to get where I want to be.”