After seeing an increase in center work this week in practice, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie offensive lineman Mason McCormick put some of that center work into action Saturday.
In the fourth quarter of the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, McCormick entered at center in front of fourth-string quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, giving McCormick his first action at center this summer, which also happened to be the first snaps at QB this preseason for Plumlee.
During his time at South Dakota State, McCormick played just 15 snaps at center. But ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, where the Steelers selected him in the fourth round, McCormick worked out at center for the Steelers, giving him some additional roster flexibility.
With veteran interior offensive lineman Nate Herbig lost for the season earlier in the week due to a torn rotator cuff, the Steelers are scrambling a bit at backup center behind rookie Zach Frazier. Second-year pro Spencer Anderson and McCormick are presumably the backups at the position.
But McCormick hadn’t seen much work at center prior to practices this week.
Now, he has some game action, too.
Though the Steelers went three-and-out in the first series with McCormick at center, it was good to see him at the position getting some in-stadium work in. There’s a huge difference between practice reps and in-stadium reps, so very clearly the Steelers made it an emphasis to get McCormick some work at the position, giving him the experience just in case moving into the regular season.
McCormick has had a strong summer, putting together a good training camp and an impressive preseason, showing off his sound technique and overall strength on the interior. Adding the center position to his resume is a nice feather in the cap.
