Although the Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed Ryan McCollum to a one-year contract this offseason, his role appeared to be in jeopardy after Brock Hoffman joined the team. Hoffman played 419 of his 474 offensive snaps at center last season and has 684 snaps at the position over the last three years. McCollum has served as Zach Frazier’s backup, but Hoffman appears poised to take over that role. However, Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show believes McCollum has the inside track to back up Frazier right now.
“I think Hoffman can play some there, I think [Spencer] Anderson can play some there, but I don’t think that’s where you want to go,” Kaboly said Monday on The Fan Morning Show on 93.7 The Fan.
Keeping McCollum would give the Steelers an extra body on their offensive line, assuming they also keep both Hoffman and Anderson. Mike McCarthy has at times kept only eight offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, and keeping McCollum likely means the Steelers would end up keeping 10.
It’s not a knock on McCollum, who played well in two games filling in for Frazier in 2024, but Hoffman is the more experienced center and has familiarity with McCarthy. What could make things interesting is if Hoffman wins the right guard job. If that happens, the Steelers may want to move him to center in the event of an injury and keep another pure backup center. McCollum could earn a spot in that case.
But keeping an extra offensive lineman would mean the Steelers have to make a cut elsewhere, and with a deep roster, that could mean letting go of a player who could be useful in 2026.
Training camp will be the ultimate test to see who can win out and take the backup center job. But signing Hoffman, an experienced option at all three interior offensive line positions, particularly center, makes it hard to justify keeping McCollum as well. McCollum has certainly beaten the odds before to make the 53-man roster, and it’s far too early to discount that possibility. But Hoffman’s experience makes him the likely candidate to win out right now.
Maybe McCarthy will want a beefed-up offensive line in the AFC North and keep extra bodies. There are a few paths for McCollum to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster, but none of them seem super likely. It would surprise me if he retains his backup job, but we’ll have more clarity in the next few weeks when training camp gets underway.