HEADLINES

Mason Cole

Steelers Release C Mason Cole

February 23rd, 2024 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers’ starting center for the past two years, Mason Cole is back in free agency. The team announced the release of the veteran interior offensive lineman Friday.

Pittsburgh has used free agency to make upgrade efforts up front over the past two offseasons, signing Cole, James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo. The guards remain with the team, but Cole will now be looking for a new NFL employer. He had started every Steelers game over the past two seasons.

One season remained on Cole’s three-year, $15.75MM deal. No void years complications or other restructure matters, which the Steelers dabble in frequently, are part of this transaction. The Steelers will save $4.75MM by releasing Cole, whom ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Caplan notes was due a $1.5MM roster bonus if he was on the roster as of March 17.

The former Cardinals starter is only going into his age-28 season; he will likely generate interest on the open market. Being released now gives Cole a head-start on the unrestricted free agents set to populate the market in mid-March.

After Pro Football Focus ranked Cole as the NFL’s 12th-best center in 2022, the advanced metrics site dropped him to 29th last season. With the Steelers’ offensive slump extending to the point the team made its first in-season coordinator firing in several decades, the team will be looking for at least one new starter up front. Despite the offensive struggles, the Steelers have enjoyed good continuity up front since adding Cole and Daniels in 2022. After seeing their starting five blockers play together throughout 2022, the Steelers had Cole and Seumalo in uniform for 18 games last season. Dan Moore started 17 games, while Daniels was available for 16.

Not known for lavish free agent spending, the Steelers did move to fortify their O-line with some veteran contracts during Kenny Pickett‘s rookie deal. The moves were half-measures of sorts, with each Pittsburgh interior O-line starter on a midlevel accord. Cole’s $5.25MM-per-year center pact represented good value for the team, but it will move on — during an offseason in which Pickett is on shakier ground.

Cole did give the Steelers some stability after Kendrick Green‘s rough 2021 as the starting center. The team traded both Green and guard starter Kevin Dotson last year, committing fully to the free agent trio inside. The Steelers have utilityman Nate Herbig under contract and used a seventh-round pick on Spencer Anderson last year. In all likelihood, however, Cole’s replacement is not yet on the roster.

OL Notes: Giants, Radunz, Steelers, Brunskill

May 28th, 2022 at 11:02am CST by Sam Robinson

After fielding another below-average offensive line last season, one that saw key injuries reconfigure it early on in the campaign, the Giants loaded up on blockers this offseason. Newcomers Evan Neal, Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano are projected to start at right tackle, right guard and center, respectively. Andrew Thomas is the team’s unquestioned left tackle. That leaves left guard as the top competition area. Holdover Shane Lemieux appears to be the favorite for that job, via NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt, who notes the third-year player has been a full participant despite coming off a patellar tendon tear that cost him 16 games last season. Lemieux, who started down the stretch for the 2020 Giants and has received the first reps with the starters thus far, attempted to play through the severe knee injury in Week 1 but ended up missing the season’s remainder.

The Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll regime, however, brought in third-round pick Joshua Ezeudu (North Carolina). Although Max Garcia arrived this offseason as well, Rosenblatt adds the Giants view the eighth-year veteran as more of a backup. This sets up a Lemieux-Ezeudu left guard battle, one that will determine if the Giants have three or four new starters up front.

Here is the latest from the NFL’s O-line scene:

  • The Titans lost two starters from their 2021 O-line — left guard Rodger Saffold and stopgap right tackle David Quessenberry — and are aiming to plug in former second-round pick Dillon Radunz. The North Dakota State product, who made just one start as a rookie, is vying for the team’s right tackle gig but also factors into the guard mix, Jim Wyatt of Titans.com offers. Radunz, chosen a year after would-be right tackle Isaiah Wilson became a quick bust, was a full-timer for the Bison from 2018-19 but lost the 2020 season due to the pandemic. The Titans used a third-round pick on Ohio State’s Nicholas Petit-Frere, representing another right tackle option. Third-year UDFA Aaron Brewer and ex-Seahawk Jamarco Jones are on the roster as left guard candidates.
  • Daniel Brunskill has started 35 straight regular-season games for the 49ers, slotting primarily at right guard. The fourth-year veteran has shown an ability to fill in at all five O-line spots, and Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle notes the 49ers would prefer Brunskill as a super-sub rather than as the full-time starter. For this reality to unfold, the team would need a viable replacement. Jaylon Moore, a 2021 fifth-round pick who has moved inside from tackle, represents competition for the 49ers’ right guard position. Given Brunskill’s experience, benching him would be quite the gamble for a team that lost five-year left guard Laken Tomlinson in free agency and looks set to lose center Alex Mack to retirement.
  • Steelers newcomers James Daniels and Mason Cole look set to play right guard and center, respectively, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, leaving a competition between two 2021 starters at left guard. The Steelers following through on the rumored move of center Kendrick Green to guard, his primary college position, has created a competition between he and Kevin Dotson — a 13-game starter through two years. Pro Football Focus graded Dotson well as a rookie, albeit in a small sample size, but an ankle injury doomed his sophomore NFL season. Green started 15 games last year; PFF graded the rookie third-rounder as one of the league’s worst centers. Given a three-year, $15.75MM deal, Cole coming to Pittsburgh has led to Green’s position switch.

Steelers To Sign OL Mason Cole

March 14th, 2022 at 6:06pm CST by Ben Levine

After re-signing Chukwuma Okorafor earlier today, the Steelers are adding another offensive lineman to the mix. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Steelers are signing center Mason Cole. It will be a three-year deal for the offensive lineman. Cole is getting a three-year deal worth $15.75MM, with $11MM paid out in the first two years (per ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter).

[RELATED: Steelers To Re-Sign OL Chukwuma Okorafor]

The 2018 third-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Cardinals, starting 32 of his 46 appearances. He was traded to the Vikings last offseason for a sixth-round pick, and he proceeded to start seven of his 14 games for Minnesota. Cole spent time at both center and right guard before his season ended early due to an elbow injury.

2021 third-round pick Kendrick Green ran with the starting center gig last year, starting all 15 of his games. The team is also rostering center J.C. Hassenauer.

 

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/24/21

December 24th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the NFL moves from Christmas Eve:

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Vikings Place OL Mason Cole On IR

December 24th, 2021 at 10:53am CST by Sam Robinson

The Vikings will continue their push for a wild-card spot without one of their starting offensive linemen. Mason Cole is now on IR.

Minnesota’s right guard starter for the past few games, Cole suffered an elbow injury Monday night in Chicago. He will miss at least the next three games. This news comes a day after the Vikings learned they will be without Dalvin Cook against the Rams. Cole suffered a hyperextended elbow, per Mike Zimmer, but could make it back for the playoffs — should Minnesota qualify.

Coming over via trade after multiple seasons as the Cardinals’ starting center, Cole has started the past seven games for the Vikings. He broke into Minnesota’s lineup at center, replacing Garrett Bradbury during the starting snapper’s COVID-19 hiatus, and then moved to right guard. Cole started 32 games with Arizona from 2018-20. He is set for free agency in 2022.

Minnesota will turn to Oli Udoh to replace Cole, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Udoh has started 13 games, at guard and tackle, for the Vikes this year but was on the bench in Week 15. Pro Football Focus slots the third-year blocker as its No. 61 overall guard this season.

Cardinals Trade C Mason Cole To Vikings

March 25th, 2021 at 1:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have traded center Mason Cole to the Vikings, according to Mark Sanchez of ESPN (on Twitter). The news has also been confirmed by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter links), who adds that Cole may be shifted to one of the guard spots.

In exchange for Cole, the Vikings will send a sixth-round pick to Arizona. It’ll be Minnesota’s compensatory pick at the end of the sixth round — the No. 223 overall choice.

Cole, a Michigan product, has appeared in 46 games with 32 starts for the Cardinals. The 2018 third-rounder was first-string 14 times last year, but the advanced metrics didn’t look fondly upon his work. Cole finished out with a 54.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade, ranking him 31st out of 36 qualified centers. After acquiring Rodney Hudson, the Cardinals were no longer in need of Cole’s services.

Cole is slated to make upwards of $2MM in 2021, the final season of his four-year rookie deal. That’s significantly cheaper than, say, Nick Easton, who doesn’t seem all that interested in a Vikings return.

Extra Points: Foles, Driskel, Butt, Cardinals

August 13th, 2019 at 9:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a rough year with the 2015 Rams, Nick Foles nearly retired. That turned out to provide astonishing benefit to the Eagles, who won Super Bowl LII thanks largely to Foles’ virtuoso performance. But going into the 2017 season, Foles had retirement on his mind again. Injuries at the time prompted Foles to inform at least one Eagles teammate, Brandon Graham, he planned to retire at season’s end (video link via ESPN.com’s Tim McManus). Fortunes changed for the 30-year-old passer, who piloted four playoff wins since considering another early NFL exit. The Jaguars guaranteed him $50MM in March on a four-year, $88MM contract. This will be Foles’ eighth NFL season.

Ahead of preseason Week 2, here is the NFL’s latest:

  • Jeff Driskel is not a lock to make the Bengals‘ 53-man roster, with fourth-round rookie Ryan Finley progressing toward the QB2 role. On Tuesday, the team experimented with its 2018 backup as a wide receiver, Jay Morrison of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Driskel would still prefer to play quarterback, but Finley will work with Cincinnati’s second-stringers in the team’s second preseason game. Zac Taylor approached Driskel on Tuesday about taking reps at receiver, per Morrison. Driskel played quarterback at Florida and Louisiana Tech; he was also a late-round Red Sox draft pick in 2013. He rushed for 130 yards last season (5.2 per scramble).
  • Attempting to return to the Broncos‘ 53-man roster after a third ACL tear, Jake Butt spent most of camp sidelined because of another setback. But he made it back to 11-on-11 drills Tuesday, Mike Klis of 9News notes. Despite Austin Fort‘s season-ending injury, the Broncos still have three other tight ends — Noah Fant, Jeff Heuerman and Troy Fumagalli. But the latter, a 2018 fifth-rounder who missed all of last season, worked as an H-back/fullback on Tuesday. Vic Fangio said Fumagalli could fit in there while Andy Janovich recovers from a pectoral injury. This would be a way for the Broncos to roster four tight ends.
  • Despite A.Q. Shipley and Mason Cole listed as co-starters at center on the Cardinals‘ depth chart, the former is expected to earn his job back. The 33-year-old is a “virtual lock” to be Arizona’s first-string snapper in Week 1, Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com notes. Cole has also worked at guard, pointing to an interior swing role for the team’s 2018 starting center. Shipley, the Cards’ center starter from 2015-17, missed all of last season due to an ACL tear but was given a one-year, $1.6MM extension during his recovery.
  • Browns defensive end Chad Thomas dodged a scare in a recent practice. The second-year defender was carted off the Berea, Ohio, practice field Monday and hospitalized. But the Miami product was quickly released and diagnosed with a neck sprain.
  • Buccaneers wide receiver Bryant Mitchell was not as fortunate. He suffered a torn left Achilles’ tendon in the team’s preseason opener, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. A three-year Edmonton Eskimo, who posted 867 receiving yards in 2018, Mitchell caught on with the Bucs in May.

Cardinals Sign Mason Cole

May 31st, 2018 at 5:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have wrapped up their 2018 draft class. On Thursday, Arizona inked their final straggler in third round centerMason Cole. 

Cole, a Michigan product, owns the distinction of being the first true freshman offensive lineman in program history to start the season opener. He did so at the left tackle position, where he spent the first two years of his collegiate career. Starting with his junior season, Cole made the switch to the middle when Graham Glasgow left for the NFL. In the pros, Cole projects to serve as Arizona’s backup center behind starter A.Q. Shipley.

Here’s the complete rundown of the Cardinals’ draft class:

As of this writing, 12 third round draft picks in the 2018 class remain unsigned. In total, 54 of this year’s 256 picks have yet to ink their deals.