Though depth can never be perfect at every position, each team strives to be as solid as they can across the board. Omar Khan’s had depth on his mind as part of his offseason roster shuffle. The guard and tackle spots are deeper than a year ago. As is EDGE and outside corner had a couple names added to it.
Backup center though remains a spot where you have to squint to see the #2 behind Mason Cole. Nate Herbig? Spencer Anderson? Could it really be Kendrick Green?
All three are potential options. But it’s equally likely the team searched outside the organization for the answer. They might just land on Houston’s Jimmy Morrissey. And should Cole ever go down, Kenny Pickett would immediately know the new starter.
Morrissey and Pickett played together at Pitt. Morrissey arrived and left a year before Pickett, 2016 to 2020, but the two still had plenty of time together. Morrissey won the starting job as a redshirt freshman, the same year Pickett appeared in his first collegiate games, making one start. By 2018, both were full-time starters and throughout their careers made more than 30 starts together.
From there, their NFL paths have diverged. Morrissey became a 7th-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders, Pickett the 20th overall selection and first quarterback off the board. Morrissey failed to make the team’s initial 53-man roster and midway through the 2021 season, was plucked off the Raiders’ practice squad by the Houston Texans after center Justin Britt went down with a recurring knee injury, eventually landing on IR.
Morrissey would earn his first NFL start in Week 9, a 17-9 loss against the Miami Dolphins. He started the next two weeks before netting one final start in Week 16. He returned and stuck to the roster as a backup but with good health in front, he played more sparingly. He didn’t start a single game and logged more than 10 snaps in just one contest, Week 16 against the Tennessee Titans.
I admit I haven’t done a deep dive into his tape since arriving in the NFL but he’s flashed. This is from a preseason game when he was with the Raiders but shows his ability to reach and cutoff in the run game.
As the clip demonstrates, Morrissey got reps at guard, something he did a little of in college and in the All-Star games ahead of his draft, though he profiles best in the middle.
Morrissey lacks great bulk but he’s not terribly undersized. At his Pitt Pro Day, he weighed in at 6032, 303 pounds with 32 3/4-inch arms. I wrote the scouting report on him coming out, highlighting his functional strength and burst/snap off the ball along with his intangibles, an experienced two-time captain, but lacking the foot speed to handle quicker finesse rushers. At the end, I concluded:
“I’ll compare him to someone who was a little smaller but a similar play style. Michigan’s David Molk, a 7th-round pick of the Chargers in 2012 and had a brief career with the Eagles. Morrissey is a good guy, easy to root for, and you can bet he’ll work hard in the NFL to maximize his chances. But his upside is limited.”
So far, that assessment has been on the mark. Morrissey is not a tremendous NFL center. But he reminds me a lot of J.C. Hassenauer, a hard worker who maximizes his game. Morrissey is about the same size, maybe a touch bigger. He’s arguably a better player and option than anything the Steelers have. Anderson is an unknown and I’ve pegged McCollum as a sleeper but Morrissey would have a leg up on both.
What are the odds he could become a Steeler? Putting trade possibilities aside, his roster spot entering 2023 is on uneasy footing. He’ll battle Scott Quessenberry, far from a quality starter but he signed a one-year deal this offseason. More notably, the Texans drafted a pair of centers this year in second rounder Juice Scruggs and sixth rounder Jarrett Patterson. Scruggs is the favorite to start while Patterson could provide depth. That’d leave Morrissey squarely on the bubble, arguably even outside-looking-in, and potential cut candidate.
Finding an offensive lineman worth claiming is tough. Teams that have quality players there don’t release them. It’s just too scarce of a position. But Morrissey is worth a look. Not just because of his Pickett connection, though it certainly helps, but his overall resume and the team’s honest need.
