Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert was a guest Thursday afternoon on ESPN 970 Radio, and being as there has been a lot speculation that second-year offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum might be kicking inside to guard, and quite possibly even asked to learn the center position, host David Todd asked him to clarify everything.
“He actually worked inside more last year in the preseason, then of course in the regular season he kicked back out to tackle when we had some injury issues and did a nice job for us,” said Colbert about Beachum. “That versatility, it\’s really important, and even when we drafted Kelvin, we said, he\’s played tackle, he\’s built like a guard and he\’s smart like a center. We said he could help us across the board.
“I\’m not sure if the coaches will work him in at the center position just yet. I think they\’ll kind of wait and see how we\’re feeling about the group that we have, or any additions that we make before they do that. I\’m guessing he\’ll start out at the tackle position and probably get some work at guard.”
So there you go. That\’s probably the most you\’re going to get out of anyone in the Steelers organization about the future of Beachum and it appears that him learning the center position isn\’t high on the priority list right now. With that being said, that really leaves the Steelers with just John Malecki as the only real candidate to back up Maurkice Pouncey as we sit here just after the draft.
Despite the addition of a few undrafted players that are center capable, I fully expect the Steelers will add a veteran backup center via free agency between now and the start of training camp. Will it be Doug Legursky, who plays the center position adequately, but struggles at both the guard positions, or will be a free agent such as Antoine Caldwell, who came in for a visit prior to the draft?
We might not have our answer to that question for some time now, but at least we have a better idea of what\’s now in store for Beachum in 2013.
