Don’t expect the first-team offensive line the Pittsburgh Steelers had for Sunday’s practice to be the group they’ll roll out Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. But with a group that looks much different than a year ago, and some injuries to begin camp, it’s worthwhile to see where the team is currently at.
With practice closed off to the public until Wednesday, we haven’t heard much about where players are running to begin camp. But a photo shared via the team website today showed who was running with the starters for today’s practice.
As I noted in that tweet, Kevin Dotson has yet to practice while Chukwuma Okorafor and Zach Banner have been limited and held out of team drills through the first four days. When they return, all three should step into the starting lineup, making it look much different than it did today.
But for guys like Moore and Coward, they are valuable reps to soak up. It’s also worth noting that Coward is getting first-team left guard snaps over B.J. Finney. Finney can play all three interior positions but appears to be running second-team even with all the linemen unavailable.
It’s also worth noting Green returned and participated in practice today after missing yesterday’s session with an excused absence.
With the way things are trending, and assuming good health, there’s a strong chance the Steelers’ offensive line looks like this for the start of the season.
LT: Chukwuma Okorafor
LG: Kevin Dotson
C: Kendrick Green
RG: Trai Turner
RT: Zach Banner
Joe Haeg will be the swing tackle and tackle-eligible, sixth offensive lineman. Finney or J.C. Hassenauer as the backup center with Coward as the first man up at guard. The Steelers are likely to have eight lineman active on gameday so one of those four names, likely Finney or Hassenauer, will be the odd man out in getting a hat on Sundays.
Once we head out to camp in a few days, we’ll have a full report on how the offensive line and the rest of the team is stacking up heading into their first preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Steelers are off from practice tomorrow and will presumably return Tuesday for one more padless practice before suiting up Wednesday.
