We should learn more about Zach Frazier today, but the Pittsburgh Steelers have confidence in Ryan McCollum, all the same. While the rookie center has been exactly as advertised, the Steelers still moved the ball with his backup on Sunday.
If Zach Frazier misses a game and Ryan McCollum starts, he will be the ninth different lineman to start a game for the Steelers this season—the entirety of all who made the initial 53-man roster. While he played one snap as an extra blocker a few weeks ago, Sunday was otherwise his Steelers debut offensively.
Ryan McCollum played the final 20 minutes of the Steelers’ 32-13 win over the Raiders following a Zach Frazier ankle injury. They scored two touchdowns and a field goal with him in the game, so he couldn’t have been too detrimental to their efforts.
“We have a deep group” along the offensive line, Steelers LT Dan Moore Jr. told Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the injury Frazier suffered on Sunday. “Obviously, Ryan [McCollum] came in, and he was more than capable. We didn’t miss a beat”.
Up to his injury, Frazier had played every offensive snap of his rookie season. McCollum had to fill in for the final 19 snaps, and we will see for how many more. Head coach Mike Tomlin will surely have something to say on the matter when he addresses the media today.
Yesterday, Jordan Schultz reported that Frazier did not suffer any structural damage, fortunate given how the play looked. He categorized his injury as week to week, which opens the door for McCollum to start should Frazier miss time.
Offensive linemen tend to be the toughest players on the field, though, and it takes a lot to get them off the field. That is especially true for Frazier, who once crawled off the field after a season-ending leg injury in college. Reportedly, he was even taking snaps from Russell Wilson on the sideline with McCollum in the game before they took him to the locker room.
Frazier is obviously as tough as they come, but perhaps Ryan McCollum’s performance gives the Steelers some comfort in erring on the side of caution. They have two more games to go before hitting their bye week, so they don’t want to aggravate an injury.
Ryan McCollum is a former college free agent out of Texas A&M, where he started with Dan Moore Jr. He spent the previous two seasons on the Steelers’ practice squad, making the 53-man roster in 2024 to back up Frazier. In 2021, he played 101 snaps with the New York Giants, making one start.
