Despite being down another offensive lineman ahead of Week 7’s game against a tough New York Jets’ defense, Mike Tomlin isn’t making excuses for the o-line injuries. It’s next-man-up or in a year where 80-percent of the Steelers’ ideal starting five has missed time, next-men-up.
“Guys gotta make their blocks certainly during the process in terms of how we work and approach the business,” Tomlin said when asked about the o-line injuries via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But in terms of play, man, I just like the way that those young guys are representing themselves.”
The next “young guy” to step in is center Ryan McCollum. Though this will be only his second NFL start and first in Pittsburgh, it’s hardly his first year in the NFL. Undrafted in 2021, he played over 100 offensive snaps as a rookie with the Detroit Lions before being signed by Pittsburgh mid-way through 2022 training camp. He was part of a third-team o-line shuffle when the displeased Steelers released multiple players to bring in new legs, including McCollum’s.
He spent 2022 and 2023 on the practice squad. McCollum looked poised to do the same in 2024 after running third-team center throughout training camp. But multiple injuries around him to C Nate Herbig, OG Isaac Seumalo, and OT Dylan Cook created a pathway for McCollum to stick to the 53-man roster.
A backup the first five games who played just one offensive snap, a failed fourth down attempt against the Indianapolis Colts, he became the starter after rookie C Zach Frazier injured his ankle in the second half of Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. McCollum’s first snap turned into RB Najee Harris’ 36-yard touchdown run, a moment McCollum didn’t have a major role in but a nice feather in his cap.
Sunday night will be tougher. The Jets have a fierce front led by DT Quinnen Williams, a two-time Pro Bowler and one-time All Pro. A tall task for McCollum to fill Frazier’s shoes, one of the NFL’s best young centers. More broadly, Tomlin knows the fundamentals are tough with an ever-changing group.
“There are cohesion challenges. Particularly, early in game just being on the same page. The communication component. Couple that with a lot of the guys don’t have a lot of NFL experience in general.”
McCollum will be adjacent to rookie Mason McCormick, making for an inexperienced heart of the Steelers’ line. There’s also likely to be change at quarterback with Russell Wilson the favorite to start, even if Tomlin is keeping that situation tight-lipped.
As pointed out by Steelers PR man Michael Bertsch, McCollum will be the team’s ninth offensive lineman to start through Week 7, the most the team has used to this point since at least 1991. A quality if not depressing stat of the weird.
To date, only LT Dan Moore Jr. will have started every game this season. He’s been the team’s most durable lineman, missing just once start since being drafted in 2021.
Despite the many changes, the goal is to do the thing the Steelers have done more times than not this season. Win.
