As we’ve done in previous years, we’re taking a look at those Pittsburgh Steelers under futures contracts for the 2024 offseason. The ones who spent most if not the entire year on the practice squad and what we can expect from them during training camp and (hopefully) into the regular season. Today, an outlook on Ryan McCollum.
Ryan McCollum/C Texas A&M – 6052, 307 lbs.
McCollum was one of my potential sleepers entering training camp last year, his first full year with the team after being signed midway through the 2022 season. But his camp was more snoozer than sleeper and he’s become something of an old-school practice squader, hanging out there without much of a chance to make the 53.
After playing guard and center in college, McCollum has NFL experience there, too. In 2021, he logged 101 offensive snaps for the Detroit Lions. With a blend of size and experience, he was an intriguing name claimed off waivers by the Steelers in mid-August 2022. It was one of Omar Khan’s first roster moves, churning up the bottom-end of the Steelers’ offensive line after getting poor results the first few weeks of camp.
McCollum didn’t make the team out of camp but signed to Pittsburgh’s practice squad and spent most of the season there, save for a few days off the roster as the team managed injuries. Heading into 2023, McCollum had a path to the roster. Kendrick Green was on his way out and the team lacked center depth. Nate Herbig had little experience there while Spencer Anderson was a seventh-round rookie without a defined position, leaning on his versatility to make the club.
In the end, McCollum’s play this past training camp was uninspiring and Anderson’s ability to play all five spots, along with OT Dylan Cook shining, all led McCollum to again missing out on making the 53. Here’s how we recapped his camp:
“Pegged as a camp sleeper, he never turned out that way. He’s versatile, you can give him that, but his tape is just…average. Average play strength, he’s able to hold on and not get bulled back but there’s limited athleticism and he creates minimal movement. Maybe he sticks on the practice squad but he’s fallen short of his bid for the 53-man roster.”
McCollum made the practice squad and stuck there all year. He signed another Reserve/Future contract after the Steelers were bounced from postseason play. Sticking in an NFL building is no small feat but at this point, he has to make a move. Either he’s someone capable of making the 53 or the team will find someone who potentially can. There aren’t many practice squad-lifers anymore. The Walter Youngs, the Scott Paxsons, the Lavon Hookses. The league moves too fast these days and teams don’t have the patience they once did.
With Mason Cole’s future uncertain and still a lack of other center options — free agency and the draft possibly changing that, of course — McCollum must be at his best when he makes the trek to Latrobe come July.
