If there is one position, the Pittsburgh Steelers could look to upgrade after forming their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, it’s backup center. Kendrick Green seems to be playing his way out while Nate Herbig and Spencer Anderson have combined for 14 center snaps this preseason. Herbig is a natural guard and Anderson is a rookie who spent most of the summer playing guard or tackle.
Herbig seems to be the favorite and if Pittsburgh doesn’t explore an external option (which would require a corresponding move, of course), he’s probably the guy. But if they were interested in checking out the waiver wire and veterans who become free agents, some names to consider.
Jimmy Morrissey – Houston Texans
The top and most logical name on this list. We wrote about Morrissey all the way back in June and he still makes a ton of sense. Kenny Pickett’s college center at Pitt, he has experience in the middle in college and in the NFL. He has 259 regular season snaps in the middle, all but one coming in 2021, but he would bring comfort to Pickett if the Steelers had to suddenly turn to a backup center. He’s versatile and has also played guard, seeing most of his time this preseason at left guard.
While the Texans lost Scott Quessenberry to a terrible knee injury, Morrissey still might not make the team. Houston drafted Penn State’s Juice Scruggs to be their center of the future and he’s likely to start. ESPN’s official roster prediction leaves Morrissey off the roster. While a different position, the team just traded for OT Josh Jones, eating up a roster spot. Morrissey has familiarity, experience, and decent odds of being cut. The ideal suggestion.
Nick Harris – Cleveland Browns
Harris lacks size and length but was a strong college standout drafted by the Browns. He missed all of 2022 due to a knee injury and may get squeezed out of a roster spot by Ethan Pocic (who replaced Harris and played well) and rookie Luke Wypler. He was left off ESPN’s final projection.
Harris has NFL reps at guard and center and would be a cheap add to the roster. Perhaps a center-only in Pittsburgh’s scheme but that was basically what they did with J.C. Hassenauer last year.
Trystan Colon – New York Jets
Colon is with the Jets but previously played in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens. Colon is taller and bigger than Harris, though his length is woefully poor (30 1/2-inch arms). Colon has over 300 total NFL snaps at center, guard, and tackle-eligible. Nearly 250 of those snaps have come at center. He’s still young, just 25, and has graded out well this preseason, especially in pass protection. The Jets’ line is coming together and Colon appears to be on the outside.
Austin Reiter – Kansas City Chiefs
A more veteran option that’s probably more attractive, Reiter has over 2,600 career offensive snaps. Nearly 32 years old, most of his work has come at center and he brings a pair of Super Bowl rings to the table. He didn’t play last year and is nearing the end of his career but the Steelers could squeeze out one more year from him as a veteran and heady backup center.
Tyler Larsen – Washington Commanders
Like Reiter, Larsen is older and just turned 32 years old. He has over 1,800 NFL snaps with the vast majority coming in the middle and another chunk at right guard. He’s got some size to be able to play center or guard. The question may be whether or not he will actually become available. ESPN projects he’ll make the Commanders’ 53.
Pat Elflein – Arizona Cardinals
I’ll end with maybe the most interesting name on the list in Elflein. A former Ohio State Buckeye with good length, he’s only 29 with similar experience as Reiter and Larsen. In fact, Elflein has over 4,000 NFL snaps to his name, splitting most of his time between center and left guard. What makes him really intriguing is his connection to Steelers’ OL Coach Pat Meyer. Meyer was his coach in Carolina for the 2021 season, logging 338 snaps at center for the Panthers that season. That’s an easy connection to come in and pick up the team’s system on the fly.
The downsides are Elflein has battled an injury this summer and hasn’t practiced/played much since Week One of the preseason. Also, he’s struggled in recent years and he’s not someone the Steelers want starting long-term. Still, there’s dot-connecting here. The biggest “concern” here is the Cardinals have traded linemen and others are hurt. So who knows, Elflein might be kept because it’s a bad roster without many options.
Ultimately looking at this list, it’s hard to find a quality offensive lineman. Most teams lack depth and injuries test things all the more. Count on the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to explore center options after losing Danny Pinter and Ryan Jensen, respectively. That’ll dry up the well even more. But it’s worth at least talking about some external options, that’s what the Steelers’ pro scouts (led by Sheldon White) do this time of year, and we’ll do the same.
