Of the 53 men who made the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 53-man roster, seven are rookies or first-year players, those who otherwise had never made an NFL team before. Excluding rookie seventh-round pick Cory Trice Jr., who is on the Reserve/Injured List, the entire draft class made the team—including the last pick, 251st overall, OL Spencer Anderson. Not that he was surprised by it.
“When I got here on Day One, I always thought I was gonna make the team. That was just a goal of mine. All throughout Latrobe and OTAs I’d try to make an emphasis to be better every day”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. “I tried my hardest and got the results that I wanted, but the work still continues, because we all know 53 is fluid. But as long as I’m doing what I need to do, I feel like I give myself a good shot”.
A 42-game starter for the Maryland Terrapins between 2018 and 2022, Anderson’s strength proved to be in his versatility. He played all five offensive line positions at one point or another this offseason, and that carried over into stadiums. Through three preseason games, he played 54 snaps at left guard, 25 at right guard, 25 at right tackle, and 5 at center.
The way the Steelers’ 53-man roster is formulated, he figures to be the third-string center behind Mason Cole and Nate Herbig. He is also the third-string guard behind Herbig as the top reserve and starters Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels. At tackle, Broderick Jones is the top reserve, but in terms of gameday practicalities, Anderson should be just behind him.
There is also Dylan Cook on the 53-man roster, but my guess is that he will be the lineman who does not dress for games. Jones will fill in at tackle, with Herbig at guard and likely center as well, but Anderson as the eighth lineman could then potentially fill in anywhere that is needed. While Cook got some late experience at guard and is continuing to expand his portfolio there, he is more of a tackle.
At this point, I do think Anderson’s job is likely secure. My guess is that Cook would be released before him if the Steelers needed a roster spot to make room for somebody else, for example in the case of an injury or if they make some other kind of acquisition.
Anderson logged well over 2,000 offensive snaps during his college career, seeing significant time at tackle, guard, and center. He played more than 1,100 snaps at tackle, with 1,098 coming at right tackle. Another 850-plus came at guard, including 8,199 at right guard. He also saw 382 snaps at center.
And importantly, not only has he continued to get better throughout the offseason, his quality of play was also consistent throughout his position switches. He told reporters that he believes his ability to move from one position to another with relative ease is the simple fact that he is a football junkie. Well, he’ll have all the football tape he can handle from now on for as long as he can maintain this job.
