The Steelers brought in C Mason Cole as part of their efforts to rebuild their offensive line. Many now believe that he has to be removed as part of that rebuild process. Yet they did not release him — at least not yet — when they dumped three other prominent veterans. Among those cuts was former starting T Chukwuma Okorafor—another addition-by-subtraction move.
The Steelers, however, don’t necessarily have to release Cole. He’s not so horrible as to be unemployable, standard exaggerations notwithstanding. Indeed, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the team still holds him in favor—up to a point.
In answering a question about C prospect Jackson Powers-Johnson, Dulac acknowledged that the Steelers could possibly draft him to replace Cole. “The Steelers like Mason Cole”, he added, “but they would like him more as a backup center/guard”.
Cole signed a three-year, $15,750,000 million contract with the Steelers in 2022. He is entering the final year of that contract now with $4,750,000 on the books. He has a $3,250,000 base salary and a $1,500,000 roster bonus, which is due March 18.
Since signing with the Steelers, Cole has started every single game at center, logging 2,185 snaps during that time. He played 100 percent of the team’s snaps during the 2023 season after logging 96 percent the year before. He has had availability on his side, at least.
Yet he regressed in significant ways this past season, most notably in his snapping. His errant snaps reached the point where the subject came up weekly during press conferences. The answer remained invariable, that essentially the Steelers weren’t doing anything about it and not particularly worried.
Consistently reliable snapping feels like a prerequisite for a starting center, and usually is. Everyone will have a mishap or two, including future Hall of Famer Maurkice Pouncey. But snapping isn’t Cole’s only problem—that’s the problem.
The one person who really acknowledged Cole’s snaps as a problem was the man himself back in December. He said there were “No issues except me” with the snap exchange and called the recurring problem “unacceptable”. (The problem continued after that—Ed)
For what it’s worth, Dulac said he believed it was more likely the Steelers would draft a center early as a long-term starting option than continuing to rely on Cole for one more season in that capacity. He even described it as “very likely”.
But he never said he expected the Steelers to cut Cole. If they don’t, and they find a replacement starter, he will be a fairly pricey reserve at nearly $5 million. Backup G Nate Herbig is also slated to earn $4 million in 2024. They traded two backups a year ago, including Kevin Dotson, making less than that.
