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.
I’m sure they’d love to land Zach Frazier. Arguably the best center in the draft, grew up like 90 minutes from Pittsburgh.
Trade up for Frazier in the 2nd or take Powers-Johnson in the 1st. IOL and specifically C has to be a Day 1 or 2 pick now.
I’m generally leery of taking a center in the first, unless it’s truly a once in a long time prospect like Ragnow or Linderbaum. JPJ is very exciting, but I can’t help being a little worried that an unusually large center seems to have nagging injuries. Maybe it’s nothing, but taking an interior lineman in the first is already a dicey value proposition. I keep thinking they’ll take a tackle in the first if one falls.
Look no further than the Bengals and Billy Price. I think he played in Arizona last year and was rated the worst center in the NFL.
I think that unless there’s a run of corners in the 5-7 picks in front of the Steelers that they’ll grab someone to pair with Porter Jr. Then probably hope to get Fraizer or Van Praan in the second round. If there is a run on corners they should go with a lineman on either side of the ball in the first round.
Buccaneers need to scoop
Scoop him up like dog shizzle.
I’m glad they moved on. On top of consistently being pushed into the backfield, Cole struggled to even snap the ball at a consistent height which helped disrupt timing on plays.
“Thank you Omar”
—- pretty much any 2023 Steeler fan who isn’t blind
I’m glad he is gone! I get that the mindset is that first round centers should be generational. In my opinion I would rather draft high floor players especially in the first couple of rounds. They tend to be 10 year starters . Too many teams swing for the fences in the first round hoping that they can coach them to reach their full potential. You can’t really afford to miss on your first and second round picks. You want quality starters that can be eventually great.
Lower value position picks miss in the early rounds, too.
Finding another C as great as Mike Webster in the 5th round of the draft would probably require a miracle.
I’m still trying to figure out why local media would gravitate over to this guy game in and game out. Between his usual bad snaps and being manhandled by nose tackles and assorted linemen, he was more media spokesman than center
Should’ve taken Humphrey in ‘21 or Linderbaum in ‘22 and center wouldn’t be such a glaring weakness. Failure to address the center position since Pouncey retired has hurt the Steelers so much