Because he's been on the team for 3 years, has had camps and games to show what he's got. Or doesn't. It's not like he's never been on the filed or gotten coaching.
And as far as Alexander goes, the prior line coach coached Frederick and Martin, he didn't ruin them or keep them from being Pro Bowlers, so he had to have coaching skills.
Some guys just aren't NFL caliber, you can't keep them around based on hope and "potential"...
It isn't based on hope or potential. You keep him around based on 2016. He stepped in for Doug Free that year and the offense didn't miss a beat. He stepped in for Tyron Smith that year and the offense didn't miss a beat.
If he wasn't NFL caliber, he would have failed in those opportunities like other poor tackles we've had in the past. For some reason, he did fail this past season. We need to find out which player he is.
I don't understand why some of you ignore his play in 2016 instead of looking at the complete picture. If he can't refind that form, then we don't need to keep him because he won't be able to help us even if there is an injury. If a new coach helps him to regain it, then he's good, cheap depth when he's healthy.
I'm for letting it play out. We're not going to get much (probably not anything) for him right now based on how he played last year because he has to prove that's not who he is. Luckily, the team understands you need more than one capable backup and is letting its line coach figure out if Green can be one of those players again.