With training camp just around the corner, it’s time to turn our focus on what is going on within each position, and on the roster as a whole. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be taking a closer look at some of the roster battles that we expect to see unfold over the course of training camp as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the start of the 2023 season.
This year, there will be no quarterback competition overshadowing everything that goes on at Latrobe, but there will still be plenty of battles to sift through, both in the starting lineup and in depth. The Steelers added many new faces this offseason, rookie and veteran alike, and it’s in training camp that we begin to see where all the pieces fit.
Position: Guard
Up for Grabs: Backup
In the Mix: Nate Herbig, Kevin Dotson, Spencer Anderson
Here’s an interesting battle I’m not sure we’ve been paying enough attention to. Since teams are now able to dress an eighth offensive lineman on gamedays without using one of their designated active roster slots, they can now dress a lineman who is exclusively a guard or a center. That allows them to have a different primary backup guard from the player who is the primary backup at center.
That’s great news for Kevin Dotson, who has already conceded that the signing of Isaac Seumalo knocked him out of the starting lineup. While his talent alone is worthy of a roster spot, his salary increase through the Proven Performance Escalator program and his lack of versatility make him harder to keep.
That’s particularly with respect to the offseason moves the team made. I think almost everybody assumes that Nate Herbig is going to be the top interior reserve, perhaps at both center and at guard, but that will have to be earned. He may wind up the primary backup at only one spot—or perhaps even neither. But he’ll still have value as depth either way.
Both Dotson and Herbig have roughly the same amount of playing experience, checking in at just a bit over 2,000 offensive snaps played in their respective careers with the better part of two seasons of accumulated starting experience.
Is one of them an appreciably better guard than the other? I really don’t think so, not based on what they’ve shown over the past couple years. I do think that Dotson could end up not only retaining his roster spot but also dressing on Sundays as the backup guard.
But it could just as easily be Herbig, who when first signed was presumed to be Dotson’s challenger for the left guard job before Seumalo was added later. I do think those who are assuming Herbig is ahead in the race are jumping the gun. Dotson’s had his low moments, but he has talent, and a second season under Pat Meyer will only be good for him.
