The Pittsburgh Steelers made the unsurprising move this offseason to release veteran center Mason Cole after his third NFL season. While the move cleared extra $4.75 million in cap space in a step toward their newly reimagined offensive line, it did leave a massive, gaping hole on the depth chart.
Currently, the Steelers do not have a true center under contract at all, let alone a viable starting option. The free agent market has dried up entirely — a good one, in which several experienced centers were available, including Lloyd Cushenberry, Mitch Morse, Aaron Brewer and Tyler Biadasz, among others. All of that is to say… it might be time to consider bringing back Cole as an insurance policy, even if it’s one that fans are desperately hoping they won’t need to cash in on.
Cole struggled mightily in his sixth NFL season, leading all centers with a whopping 37 pressures allowed over 18 games, yielding a 32.4 PFF pass-blocking grade that ranked second-lowest among centers with 500+ blocking snaps on the season. In fact, Cole finds himself as one of just three centers to post a 32.4 or lower PFF pass-blocking grade (min. 500 blocking snaps) dating back to 2010, the others including Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. (26.9 in 2023) and Texans center Scott Quessenberry (25.8 in 2022).
Still, there’s something to be said for a certain level of familiarity and comfortability on both the part of Cole and the Steelers coaching staff here. Virtually all available free agent centers at this point have similar pass-blocking concerns… so why not take up with the guy you already know?
If the Steelers could negotiate a veteran-minimum deal for Cole to return, they’d be wise to do so… even if it’s “just in case”. Cole would theoretically afford the Steelers some flexibility heading into the draft to lean offensive tackle in Round 1, just by nature of having a body at the position beyond Nate Herbig, who’s played just 49 total snaps at center over his five NFL seasons.
