Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan met with the media today at the NFL’s annual league meetings in Orlando, Florida, and he addressed the team’s hole at center that still remains after the team released Mason Cole in late February. According to Dale Lolley of Steelers.com, Khan said that while there are still veteran free agents available at center, the team may explore the trade route to find its next center.
“All options are still on the table. There’s some players out there still that are free agents. There’s maybe some trade opportunities, and then that there’s a draft,” Khan said via Lolley on Steelers.com. “But you know, we have Herbig around and as I mentioned to you guys in Indy, we have some offensive lineman to have some versatility but it’s a work in progress.”
With the draft still upcoming at the end of April, it’s a potential avenue for the Steelers to explore with names like Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier available, but the Steelers really don’t have an option at center right now. They shouldn’t feel comfortable going into the draft with Nate Herbig as their only real option to play center, and exploring the trade route would make sense.
One name that pops off the page immediately is Ricky Stromberg, whom the Washington Commanders selected with the No. 97 overall pick last season. Washington signed Tyler Biadasz from the Dallas Cowboys this offseason and just recently Michael Dieter from the Houston Texans, leaving Stromberg in limbo.
The Steelers had a formal meeting with Stromberg at the Combine last season and met with him at the Shrine Bowl, and despite limited playing time last season (just 26 snaps, 22 at left guard and four at right guard, he would give the Steelers another option who extensively played center in college and would likely come in pretty cheap via trade.
But the idea that the Steelers would be interested in exploring a trade for a center is a new one, and it would also make sense given how barren the Steelers are at the position. For a team that wants to compete and win now, the Steelers still need help at cornerback, wide receiver and offensive tackle as well as at center. If they don’t have a reliable center option by the draft, they’d most likely have to use one of their first two picks on the position. To avoid putting themselves in that spot, they can explore the trade market and find someone who likely would be a better option over what’s left in free agency.
While it’s already been a crazy busy offseason for the Steelers, there’s still a long way to go and a lot more moves to make. A trade for a center could very well be among them, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if that happened before the draft starts on April 25.
