The offensive line is a crowded room with a lot of high draft picks now invested in the unit. That makes it more difficult for the undrafted or late-round picks to earn a spot on the roster. That would include 2023 seventh-round pick Spencer Anderson.
He is entrenched in a competition to be one of the last offensive linemen on the roster. The Steelers typically keep eight or nine offensive linemen on their initial 53-man roster. Isaac Seumalo, Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, James Daniels, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick should all be virtual locks to make the cut. Nate Herbig and Dan Moore Jr. should be pretty safe as well. That leaves one spot for OT Dylan Cook and Anderson to compete for, in theory.
Anderson has a big opportunity here on the third day of training camp practice. Seumalo is sitting out, and Anderson has stepped in as the first-team guard in his place, per our Alex Kozora on X. Seumalo’s status is currently unknown, but there is a chance this is just a veteran rest day. We should learn more after practice when head coach Mike Tomlin addresses the media.
Not only is Anderson working with the first team at Seumalo’s left guard spot, but he is also working second-team reps at right guard. This is a good sign for his chances of sticking around on the roster.
In college, Anderson started games at tackle, guard, and center. He initially seemed to be getting more work at tackle with the Steelers but told the media during spring practices that he is now focused on being a full-time guard.
Starting RG James Daniels is entering the final year of his deal, and Isaac Seumalo is on the wrong side of 30 with two years remaining on his contract. If a guy like Anderson can stick around the roster long enough, he has a real opportunity to start for the Steelers in the future.
McCormick was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. His roster spot is pretty safe, but he is Anderson’s biggest competition to be the top backup at guard. The Steelers are testing that out today while Seumalo sits out as McCormick subbed in ahead of Anderson later in practice with the first-team offense, per TribLive’s Chris Adamski on X.
There is a chance that McCormick and Anderson could be the guards of the future once Daniels and Seumalo are off the roster in a year or two, so it will be fun to track their progress at camp when they are thrown into the mix with the first-team offense.
HC Mike Tomlin did address Seumalo sitting out on Saturday after the practice ended.
“Yeah, that’s just maintenance. We’ll start rotating our veteran off days in an effort to preserve, but also to give exposure to young people,” Tomlin said. “It’s twofold. You’ll see Cam [Heyward] and T.J. [Watt] and others who have been at it awhile and are familiar with this environment given some days off. It’s about preserving them, giving them what they need to get ready, and quite frankly, sometimes experienced guys need less than others. But also providing an opportunity for the young guys to get additional reps and elevated reps against more experienced competition in some instances.”
