Pittsburgh Steelers rookie center Zach Frazier made his return to the lineup Sunday in Week 10 against the Washington Commanders, and despite missing a few weeks with an ankle injury the second-round pick showed no real signs of rust, which earned praise from head coach Mike Tomlin Tuesday.
After missing Week 7 against the New York Jets and Week 8 against the New York Giants, Frazier returned to action in Week 10 against the Commanders on the road, taking advantage of the bye week to get healthy and back on the field.
“It was good to have Zach Frazier back. I didn’t think he showed a lot of rust, particularly for a guy that doesn’t have a great deal of playing experience,” Tomlin said during his weekly press conference, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “And so, I was pleased with how he got back on the moving train to just name a few specific instances.”
Getting on a moving train can be difficult, even for experienced veterans. It’s hard to jump right back into things after time off, but Frazier was no worse for the wear against the Commanders.
In the win over Washington, Frazier played all 78 offensive snaps, grading out at a 55.2 overall from Pro Football Focus, including 57.0 as a run blocker and a 69.1 in pass protection. For the third straight game, Frazier didn’t allow a pressure and continues to be quite the piece in the middle of the offensive line for the Black and Gold.
With Frazier out of the lineup against the Jets and Giants, Ryan McCollum stepped up and played well, garnering praise from teammates and coaches along the way. He was quite serviceable, but it was good to see Fraizer on the field Sunday in Washington.
Though the Steelers’ offense was slow out of the gate and had some issues running the football, getting their starting center in Frazier back was a nice boost. The best news, too, was that Frazier and quarterback Russell Wilson had no issues with snaps in Frazier’s first game since Wilson was inserted into the lineup as the starting QB.
Prior to his ankle injury, Frazier was one of the best centers in the AFC, let alone the NFL. Now that he’s back on the moving train, hopefully he can continue to elevate his game, stabilize the Steelers’ offensive line and continue to play at a high level.
