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Zach Frazier

Steelers C Zach Frazier Facing Multi-Week Absence

October 17th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Sam Robinson

As the Steelers determine their Week 7 quarterback, Justin Fields or Russell Wilson will be taking snaps from a different center. Zach Frazier will become the second Steelers center this season to miss time.

A second-round rookie, Frazier stepped into Pittsburgh’s starting lineup due to Nate Herbig‘s rotator cuff tear in August. Frazier has started the team’s first six games, but an ankle injury will sideline the rookie for a bit. While officially given a week-to-week timetable, Frazier will miss multiple games, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac.

Frazier’s earliest return window looks to be after Pittsburgh’s Week 9 bye. A Week 10 return would allow the Steelers to avoid using an injury activation, as Frazier would miss just two games. An IR placement would knock Frazier out until Week 12, and Dulac did not confirm Frazier would be set to return in Week 10. If Frazier is indeed expected to miss more time following the bye week, the Steelers will assuredly consider placing him on IR this weekend.

This has not been a good year for Steelers O-line health, yet the team has withstood these maladies to start 4-2. Frazier’s injury follows Troy Fautanu‘s more significant setback. The first-round rookie tackle is out for at least the entire regular season, having seen a multi-injury year lead to what may well be a lost season. Fautanu is not out of the picture for the playoffs, though Herbig is on season-ending IR. The Steelers also did not have Isaac Seumalo in their lineup until Week 5. They did not use IR for the left guard, but he still missed four games. To top this off, contract-year right guard James Daniels is out for the season with an Achilles tear.

Among Steelers starters, only Dan Moore Jr. will enter Week 7 having not missed any time this season. Broderick Jones, who has started five games, has also appeared in all six. Frazier’s absence will lead to Ryan McCollum starting, Mike Tomlin said this week. A 2021 Texans UDFA who caught on with the Steelers in 2022, McCollum has played in all six Pittsburgh games this season. The 26-year-old blocker has made one career start — with the Lions three years ago — and did not see any game action in 2022 or ’23.

Steelers OL Nate Herbig Suffers Torn Rotator Cuff

August 18th, 2024 at 6:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

AUGUST 18: A follow-up from Dulac notes that Herbig is dealing with a torn rotator cuff. He is now in danger of missing the 2024 campaign as a result. At a minimum, a lengthy rehab awaits him. Frazier will ascend to the top spot on the depth chart for the foreseeable future with Herbig not in the picture any time soon. Herbig has since been placed on IR, clearing the way for Frazier.

AUGUST 17: Nate Herbig spent training camp atop the Steelers’ center depth chart, but he will be unavailable for a stretch. The sixth-year blocker is dealing with a “signficant” shoulder injury, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Herbig will miss regular season time, Dulac adds. As a result, the 26-year-old is no longer in contention to be tapped as the starter in the middle for Week 1. Second-round rookie Zach Frazier will instead handle those duties, as may have at some point during the 2024 campaign anyway. The West Virginia product was one of three draft investments up front made by Pittsburgh in April.

The first of those was Troy Fautanu, selected 20th overall. The Washington alum is set to handle right tackle duties right away, thus allowing 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones to move to the blindside. Frazier will have a limited period to log first-team reps in practice and the preseason before taking on starting responsibilities in the fall. For Herbig, the injury news leaves him sidelined for the start of his second season with the team.

The former Eagle and Jet signed a two-year, $8MM deal last offseason. That pact allowed him to play in every regular and postseason game during his debut Steelers season, making a pair of starts. Herbig played at left and right guard (his most familiar positions) but not at center during that time. With Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels in place at both guard spots, though, he spent this summer preparing to log a starter’s workload at the pivot.

Now, Herbig’s attention will turn to recovery as he enters a contract year. If Frazier performs well right away, he will cement his status as the Steelers’ center of the present and future. That would help the chances of Herbig departing in free agency next March (as Mason Cole did this past offseason), although he could still be counted on in a depth capacity once healthy.

Steelers Sign Zach Frazier, Complete Rookie Signings

June 10th, 2024 at 5:46pm CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers have completed their draft pick signings. The team announced that they’ve signed second-round center Zach Frazier to his four-year rookie contract.

The West Virginia product got into 47 games during his collegiate career, including a 2023 campaign where he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors after not allowing a single sack. That performance helped put him firmly on the NFL map, and he was ultimately the second center off the board (behind Graham Barton) when he was selected at No. 51.

“They’re getting a hard worker who is going to give everything he has to the organization to win football games,” Frazier said in a team statement. “I couldn’t be more excited.”

The Steelers moved on from Mason Cole this offseason, opening a starting spot for Frazier. Considering the rookie’s versatility (he played both center and guard in college), the Steelers could shift Frazier around if necessary. The Steelers will also feature another rookie starting OL in first-round offensive tackle Troy Fautanu.

Today’s move completes the Steelers’ draft pick signings. The team’s entire draft class includes:

Latest On Steelers’ Offensive Line

May 25th, 2024 at 2:44pm CST by Ely Allen

The Steelers offensive line in 2023 was pretty decent, allowing the ninth-least sacks in the NFL and ranking as the 13th-best rushing offense. Still, Pittsburgh opted to make a number of moves towards an upgrade on their offensive front for the 2024 season. In fact, the Steelers utilized their first two draft picks (and three of seven) this year on linemen, and all three could be in line to start as rookies.

The only position that lost a starter on the line this year was center. The team watched their starter of the last two seasons, Mason Cole, depart in free agency. Cole graded out as the league’s 29th-best center out of 36 graded players at the position last season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). They have a couple options to replace Cole, including veteran Nate Herbig. Herbig hasn’t played center much at the college or NFL level, but he has versatile experience all over the line and could be utilized there in a pinch. The favorite to start, though, is the second-round rookie out of West Virginia, Zach Frazier.

At guard things are a bit more interesting. Like Frazier, fourth-round rookie guard out of South Dakota State Mason McCormick is currently slotted to start on the depth chart of the team’s website. McCormick is listed as the starting left guard, presumably because that’s the only position he played in college. The team’s returning left guard, Isaac Seumalo, graded out as the team’s best offensive lineman in 2023, though, per PFF. So, unless the team benches their top returning lineman, Seumalo or McCormick will need to move over to the right side to compete with James Daniels. Seumalo has experience starting at right guard in the past, so it makes the most sense to move him over.

At tackle, the Steelers utilized their first-round pick to bring in Washington lineman Troy Fautanu. Many projected Fautanu’s skillset to fit best at guard or center at the NFL-level, though he spent most of his time at tackle during college in Seattle. Pittsburgh believes that he has the ability to stay at tackle and start in the NFL. Pundits predict that last year’s rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones will remain at right tackle, where he played in 2023, putting Fautanu at left tackle to replace Dan Moore Jr. as the starter. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, though, Fautanu has spent the first three days of organized team activities at right tackle behind Jones.

Kaboly doesn’t think Fautanu will stay as the backup at right tackle, though. More likely, with OTAs serving as the ideal time to mold and learn. This experience is the perfect opportunity for Fautanu to learn both positions in the event that he may have to move over to the right side and fill in for an injured Jones. It’s not uncommon for offensive lineman to need time to develop, but the Steelers likely didn’t use their first two draft picks on players they didn’t intend to start.

Things are still extremely early. The rookies are still finding their footing, and a number of camp battles are sure to ensue. The team even has plenty of time to sign a veteran free agent if they deem it necessary. Still, Pittsburgh has the potential to serve as a rare occasion in which we see three rookies starting across the offensive line.

We last saw that in 2020 when the Dolphins started Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt, and Solomon Kindley (their first-, second-, and fourth-round picks, respectively) as rookies. That Miami team improved their record from 5-11 the previous year to 10-6 despite the youth across the line. The Steelers may be hoping for a similar level of improvement.

Teams Viewing Steelers As Most Likely To Trade For WR?

April 19th, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Known more for drafting and developing wide receivers — often from Day 2 — than trading for them, the Steelers have produced an impressive track record on this front. Over the past 15 years, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and George Pickens have enjoyed varying levels of success with the team despite coming off the board after Round 1.

It is arguable no team has strung together a run of homegrown WR talent like this in the modern game, but rumblings continue to emerge about the Steelers being ready to pull the trigger on a trade. A report earlier this week indicated the team had inquired about Brandon Aiyuk and was interested in trading for a wideout, and the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora submits another offering in this direction.

Rival execs view the Steelers as the team potentially the most motivated to acquire a receiver via trade. While a Tee Higgins move will not happen — unlikely to be moved, Higgins definitely would not be dealt within the division — teams certainly are monitoring the 49ers regarding an Aiyuk swap.

Although Sean Payton and Broncos GM George Paton said (via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson) he has spoken with Courtland Sutton recently, the 6-foot-4 wideout showed by far the most chemistry with Russell Wilson last season. The team currently employing Wilson may be interested in reuniting the two, as Sutton is staying away from Broncos workouts in hopes of a new contract.

The Broncos nearly traded Sutton to the Ravens last year, and after their Jerry Jeudy asking price dropped drastically (from a first-rounder to accepting fifth- and sixth-rounders from the Browns), Sutton probably will not cost a second-round pick — Denver’s hope in 2023 — entering his age-29 season. Aiyuk will be more difficult to acquire, and it is worth wondering if the Steelers would pull the trigger, given the fifth-year wideout’s extension price and the AFC North franchise’s success finding receivers in the draft.

This draft is set to produce yet another deep receiver crop, which stands to lower prices in trades. But the Steelers may need more than one starter. Dealing Johnson to Carolina in a deal that brought back cornerback Donte Jackson, Pittsburgh has little surrounding Pickens presently. A slot player and a second boundary option would stand to be in play for the Steelers. The 6-foot-4 Sutton (signed through 2025 on a $15MM-per-year deal) made some of last season’s best catches, working as a deep threat and red zone target (10 2023 TDs) for Wilson. The 6-foot Aiyuk, who is tied to a fifth-year option worth $14.1MM, has displayed a bit more versatility in Kyle Shanahan‘s system.

If the Steelers are to execute a trade, they could devote more draft resources to other positions. Pittsburgh is targeting help at center and tackle, with The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly indicating a right tackle addition is on the team’s radar (subscription required). They hosted 11 O-linemen on “30” visits, including Georgia’s Amarius Mims, Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga along with interior O-lineman Graham Barton (Duke), Jackson Powers-Johnson (Oregon) and Zach Frazier (West Virginia), Kaboly adds. They also met with Washington O-lineman Troy Fautanu. Daniel Jeremiah’s big board lists each of these players as top-30 talents; the Steelers pick at No. 20.

The Steelers, who cut two-year center starter Mason Cole, look to be considering moving 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones — their primary right tackle to close the season — to the left side, where he primarily played in college. That would leave three-year LT starter Dan Moore Jr. in limbo. Pro Football Focus has not been a Moore fan, but the former fourth-round pick — who is going into a contract year — has started 49 career games. After the team drafted Jones to step in for Chukwuma Okorafor, the latter is now with the Patriots. A tackle move — one that may be definitively in the Steelers’ Round 1 plans, as this is a deep class — would stand to give Jones a long-term bookend.

Pittsburgh’s Jackson trade aside, a cornerback will also be targeted — just likely not in Round 1 — according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Jackson is in a contract year, while the team cut Patrick Peterson. Mike Tomlin said a Peterson reunion will be considered, but the likely Hall of Famer is going into his age-34 season.

Dulac adds the Steelers also like Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson, whom the Tigers used across the formation. Ranked 39th on Jeremiah’s big board, the 285-pound defender might not be available for Pittsburgh without a second-round trade-up. The Steelers hold the No. 51 overall pick. In fact, ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Caplan notes Robinson is expected to be off the board at some point late in the first round. The Steelers have Cameron Heyward under contract for one more season, his age-35 campaign.