The Pittsburgh Steelers were in the market for a center during free agency this offseason after releasing Mason Cole toward the end of February. The centers went quicker than expected in free agency, and at much higher prices than many anticipated, but the Steelers did attempt to make something happen with veteran C Mitch Morse.
They brought him in for a visit, but he ended up signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a two-year, $10.5 million deal. Morse talked about his decision on a recent podcast appearance, and he was a lot closer to signing with the Steelers than we realized.
“It happened very quick. I got released on a Wednesday and committed to play I think Sunday for the Jags,” Morse said on the Love You Bro podcast. “I went to go visit Pittsburgh, and it was between Pittsburgh and Jacksonville. And I was really hoping I wasn’t gonna like Pittsburgh. And I went there, and I loved everything about it. I loved [Mike] Tomlin. I loved the players. Then it came down to a few things, and Jacksonville just became the right choice for my family and I.”
He mentioned the palm trees and the beach in Jacksonville, so maybe he wanted to escape the bitter cold of the northeast after spending years in Buffalo and park his family on the beach. That, along with the familiar faces on the coaching staff, and working with QB Trevor Lawrence were among the reasons he chose the Jaguars over the Steelers.
“I wanted to go to football heaven,” Morse said. “Not to say the Steelers weren’t that option, they totally were, but something about Trevor and of course Doug [Pederson], and other guys that I know, it just made that decision easy for me at the end.”
The Steelers reportedly made an “aggressive push” to acquire Mitch Morse. After that fell through it became very apparent that the team would turn to the draft to land its next center.
West Virginia C Zach Frazier ended up being taken in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. They likely would have still targeted a center in the draft even had they signed the 32-year-old Morse, but perhaps they would have waited until the third or fourth round to address the position. It certainly would have been less urgent, though Omar Khan had talked about wanting to find the next great Steelers center, so maybe they would have gone with Frazier in the second round anyway.
The only difference is, the Steelers could have brought their rookie along more slowly had Morse signed with them. Now, Frazier has a good chance of being the Week 1 starter, and there could be some growing pains as he adjusts to life in the NFL.
