The Pittsburgh Steelers do not current have a player on the roster you should feel good about as their opening-day starting center. I’m not sure they even have an option that one can fairly describe as satisfactory, at least in late March. But surely they know what they’re doing; Omar Khan wouldn’t steer us wrong. Even the beat writers are singing that tune.
“There has to be a plan somewhere”, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic said regarding the state of the center position on 93.7 The Fan with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller yesterday. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out they don’t have much in the way of options”.
He mentioned Nate Herbig, whom Khan cited as an option, and his whopping 58 career snaps at center. Kaboly also acknowledged RG James Daniels and his background at center, but most agree this is not the ideal solution. There is also Spencer Anderson, who had not a great deal more experience at center in college than Kendrick Green.
Notably, Khan talked about this being a good year to need a center after they released Mason Cole. Even so, the Steelers have not taken advantage of the market they so praised, at least up to this point. Weeks into free agency, the veteran options at center are becoming incredibly thin.
Off the board are Lloyd Cushenberry III and Tyler Biadasz, Andre James and Aaron Brewer, Mitch Morse Ryan Bates. Even the likes of Nick Gates, Trystan Colon, and Bradley Bozeman are in new locations. The biggest name available is Connor Williams, who tore his ACL in Week 14.
“If you’re lucky, is gonna be healthy by September”, Kaboly pointed out regarding Williams as an option for the Steelers. “And you can’t guarantee you’re gonna get a guy in the draft. That might be their thought, but you can’t guarantee that”.
“There has to be some plan in place here. I’m concerned about it, because one weak link in that offensive line, especially the center, that affects Russell Wilson. That affects the run game. That affects Arthur Smith. I would assume they have a plan, but it just really hasn’t shown itself yet”.
Under former general manager Kevin Colbert, the Steelers typically addressed holes in the starting lineup with a low- to mid-tier free agent signing before adding a high draft pick. They may consider Herbig to be that veteran, but the problem with that is, frankly, he’s not a center.
In the draft, the Steelers have some enticing names to consider such as Jackson Powers-Johnson and Zach Frazier. But as Kaboly said, they can’t bet the farm that the guy they want is going to be available when they want him.
The Steelers could sign somebody like Nick Gates or even bring back Cole, but neither are ideal options. Both lost their starting jobs, the latter by the Steelers having just released him. Gates lost his starting job with the Commanders last season, who subsequently released him.
