The initial 53-man roster has been set for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and OL Andrus Peat made the team. The veteran blocker made the roster after being signed to the team on August 7. Peat gave the Steelers a veteran presence to help fill in as they dealt with numerous injuries across their offensive line.
After signing Peat, Mike Tomlin mentioned that he can play both guard and tackle. Most of his NFL experience comes at guard, but he has also started games at tackle. In fact, he played tackle coming out of Stanford back in 2015.
Tomlin mentioned that Peat’s versatility and experience made him an asset to the team. Pittsburgh must have took that to heart, opting to keep him on their 53-man roster over the likes of Dylan Cook. Cook had a respectable preseason, but didn’t do enough to hold off Peat and Calvin Anderson, who was injured for most of the preseason.
While Anderson is likely to be Pittsburgh’s swing tackle behind Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, Peat will provide additional tackle depth as well as at his natural position, guard. Pittsburgh lacked notable depth and experience along the offensive line heading into training camp; they were flush with young, inexperienced names behind the starters that weren’t likely to make the roster.
Peat is the ideal depth piece for Pittsburgh for a few reasons. First, his positional versatility at both guard and tackle is invaluable in today’s NFL. Most blockers can usually play one or the other, but not both. Should Pittsburgh have injuries upfront this season, it’s nice to know Peat’s additional depth can help fill in. Peat will provide depth alongside Calvin Anderson at tackle, Spencer Anderson at guard, and Ryan McCollum at center.
Peat wields a wealth of playing experience, having played in 126 games. He started 103 games this last decade. Cook hasn’t seen a regular season snap in his career, making him more of a risk to throw out there compared to battle-tested Peat.
Does this mean that Pittsburgh landed a steal in signing Peat? Not necessarily, as he’s no longer playing at the Pro Bowl level he was from 2018-2020. However, Peat is a proven commodity in this league. That stood out to Tomlin when announcing that the team had signed him. During the preseason, Peat played with plenty of aggressiveness and urgency. He showed active hands in pass protection as well as physicality as a run blocker.
Peat’s tape wasn’t all positive as he still needs to knock off some rust. He’ll be able to continue acclimating to his new environment with more time in the playbook and more reps in practice. The Steelers could have done worse than signing a player of Peat’s pedigree. They gave themselves serviceable reserves to round out their offensive line for the 2025 season.
Hopefully, we won’t see Peat in action, as we want the starting unit to stay healthy throughout the season. Should there be attrition as the season goes on, Peat could give Pittsburgh the veteran, versatile blocker they need.
