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Mike Tomlin on Vance McDonald trade: Steelers' TEs weren't 'varsity' enough

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers watched the Ladarius Green experiment fall apart in 2016 and didn't like the consistency of the Jesse James-Xavier Grimble-David Johnson battery in camp.

They were "not consistently varsity enough," as Mike Tomlin would classified it Tuesday.

The acquisition of former 49er Vance McDonald -- whom Tomlin calls an "NFL-caliber tight end" -- puts the team's current tight ends on notice, though that doesn't mean they can't all co-exist.

"We're not going to anoint him in any way," Tomlin said of McDonald.