Steelers Insider Says Team Needs To Strongly Consider Cutting An Offensive Liability In 2024 Offseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent considerable sums of money in the last two offseasons trying to beef up their offensive line. James Daniels and Mason Cole were signed in the 2022 offseason to solidify the middle of the unit. In 2023, the team signed Isaac Seumalo to pair with Daniels at guard and brought in Nate Herbig as some extra depth at the interior positions. While Cole provided some stability at the center position in the 2022 season, his disaster of a 2023 season has Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo wondering if the team should move on from the veteran in the 2024 offseason. 

Cole has been a night and day difference from the failed experiment of trying Kendrick Green at the center position. Still, the team could use more consistency. Cole has played in 34 of 34 games since arriving in Pittsburgh, but his inconsistent snaps in the 2023 season were a huge problem that contributed to the team losing games. Cole was the 29th-ranked center in the 2023 season by Pro Football Focus, a massive drop off from 2022 when he was the 12th-ranked player at the position. His pass blocking was the major contributor to his fall, dropping from 63.8 to 39.6.    

Fittipaldo said on a recent episode of the North Shore Drive podcast that the team should strongly consider moving on from the veteran after his struggles in 2023. 

"Cole is another interesting decision," Fittipaldo stated. "They're paying Nate Herbig $4 million a year and they're barely using him."     

Herbig started two games as a guard in the 2023 season, but has experience playing center at the NFL level. Fittipaldo mused that the team could try him at center if they decide to cut ties with Cole and save $4.75 million in 2024. 

The Steelers, Fittipaldo points out, are spending a pretty penny on the offensive line already with big contracts to Seumalo and Daniels. Even Herbig is on a big contract as a backup. If the team believes Herbig can step up and take over for Cole, it would be a nice way to save some money on that unit. 

Steelers Have An Uncertain Future At Center

Pittsburgh has had its share of elite centers throughout the years. Hall of Famer Mike Webster manned the position from 1976 until 1988 after being a fifth-round pick in the 1974 NFL Draft. Dermontti Dawson made the switch from guard to center after Webster left in 1989 and built his own Hall of Fame career with Pittsburgh, playing until 2000. 10 years later, in the 2010 NFL Draft, the team selected Maurkice Pouncey in the first round, and he gave the team another elite man at the position for nearly a decade. 

If the Steelers are going to find another man to hold the front in the middle like those franchise legends, it will likely have to be in the same place they found them: The NFL Draft. Fittipaldo said that figuring out if Herbig can be the starting center in the short term could allow them to find a longer-term replacement in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Even if the Steelers land their top center prospect, there's no telling if that guy can be a plug-and-play man as a rookie. Having some depth with Herbig would certainly be an asset, but wouldn't prohibit the team from potentially adding another depth option in free agency if Cole is released. It would be harder to add another player at center if Cole stayed on the roster. The Steelers took their time moving rookie tackle Broderick Jones into the starting lineup. Having Herbig and maybe a free agent option at least to start on the depth chart could allow them to use the same course of action in 2024. 

Do you think Cole's time with the Steelers is up? What centers in the 2024 class would you want the team to target? Comment below! 

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