The Pittsburgh Steelers had rare injury luck along their offensive line over the last two seasons, but that has pretty much regressed back to the mean and then some in the 2024 season so far. Their latest setback up front is an ankle injury sustained by Zach Frazier that has the rookie center labeled week-to-week in his availability. He was already ruled out for the Steelers’ Sunday night game against the New York Jets.
Pro Football Focus released its weekly o-line rankings Wednesday, and Frazier’s absence from the lineup was felt in a big way. The Steelers tumbled five spots from the No. 19 offensive line to No. 24.
“Rookie center Zach Frazier suffered an ankle injury in Pittsburgh’s win over the Raiders in Week 6,” wrote PFF’s Zoltán Buday. “However, he avoided a serious injury and is considered to be week-to-week. He is going to be replaced by Ryan McCollum at center.”
From left to right, the Steelers will have Dan Moore Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Ryan McCollum, Mason McCormick, and Broderick Jones against the Jets. Up until this latest injury, the Steelers have had a solid plan in place to absorb the injuries. They drafted five offensive linemen over the last two years, which is a big reason why the rash of injuries hasn’t been catastrophic to this point.
Spencer Anderson and Mason McCormick were able to fill in for Seumalo. Frazier was able to step in for Nate Herbig. McCormick has transitioned over to the right side nicely to fill in for James Daniels. And, of course, Broderick Jones was able to step back into the right tackle job after Troy Fautanu suffered his season-ending knee injury.
“Right tackle Broderick Jones struggled against the Raiders, especially in pass protection,” Buday wrote. “He surrendered six pressures, tied for the second most among tackles, while his 16.7% pressure rate was the third-highest clip at the position.”
Things are a little different this time around with McCollum stepping in for Frazier. There isn’t quite the same level of confidence in the change this time around. He filled in admirably on Sunday against the Raiders, but now the opposing defensive linemen have a whole week to prepare and game plan for him.
The last two games were the only time this season that the Steelers have started the same five offensive linemen in back-to-back weeks. That streak is already over.
With Arthur Smith’s new offensive system in Pittsburgh, and with the youth of the line overall, they were going to need time to jell before coming into their own as a group. All of the injuries have set that process back in a big way.
