The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line has been in flux, starting a different combination of five players in each week of the season so far. There are three offensive linemen out for the season, two of which would be starting. Rookie OG Mason McCormick got the start at left guard last week, but he was supposed to be in a rotation with second-year OG Spencer Anderson. When OG James Daniels went down with a reported Achilles tear, Anderson flipped over to right guard.
He hasn’t played or practiced at right guard much, but Anderson told the media on Monday that he likes the way it feels on the right side.
“Somebody asked me yesterday how many reps at right guard had I taken before that game. I don’t think I took any really, other than like camp,” Anderson said in a video posted by Steelers Live on X. “I felt more comfortable there. Even Isaac [Seumalo] came up to me, the player, he was like ‘You like right better?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He was like ‘You look more comfortable there.’
“I thought it was pretty good. I had to adjust on the fly ’cause obviously when James went down, somebody had to fill in.”
There was no question which side Anderson was going to be playing while Daniels was healthy and Seumalo was out. There will be some flexibility, however, once Seumalo is back. He has mostly played left guard throughout his career, but he played 1,134 snaps at right guard in 2022 with the Philadelphia Eagles.
With McCormick starting to overtake Anderson, he could be forced over to the right side where he only played 19 snaps in college. Anderson played 819 college snaps at right guard, which explains his level of comfort there.
Will the Steelers try to keep things the same with Seumalo on the left side? If so, does Anderson have a better chance to win the right guard job over McCormick if he feels more comfortable there? They could also shift Seumalo over to the right to keep McCormick on the left, but that would introduce more change to an o-line that is already in flux.
Either way, we have seen what switching sides can do for a player. Just look at Kevin Dotson’s career after playing on the wrong side in Pittsburgh only to become one of the best guards in the league in 2023 with the Los Angeles Rams.
