Another Possible Center Option Comes off Board for Steelers

Another possible center option is off the market as Seahawks center Evan Brown is signing with the Arizona Cardinals, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Brown started 16 games in Seattle a year ago and has plenty of experience in that role, giving Arizona a cost-effective option at center for very little. And with his name now off the board, the market for potential center additions in free agency continue to dwindle for the Steelers.

The Steelers released starting center Mason Cole last month, and are certainly in the market to replace him this offseason, whether that’s through free agency, the 2024 NFL Draft, or both. But it seems the second option is becoming far likelier.

“You know at the center position, there’s a high standard here,” general manager Omar Khan said at the NFL Combine.“I got spoiled. Man, I was around Maurkice Pouncey and Jeff Hartings during my time here. Obviously, there’s Dermotti Dawson. There were plenty of great centers here. There’s a high standard, so we owe it to ourselves to look at everything to find the next great Steelers center.”

The Steelers brought in center Mitch Morse before the legal tampering period but have yet to address it since then. In the NFL Draft, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Zach Frazier are certainly guys to watch. They have not hidden their affinity for both of those players.

The team will host Frazier for a local visit at some point before the NFL Draft, according to Ryan Fowler of the Draft Network. Frazier and Powers-Johnson are expected to be drafted within the first two rounds, and that expectation gained even more steam based on his measurements and workout at the NFL Combine. Despite not even testing, he helped himself out.

So, with the free agent market becoming scarce, and top option Connor Williams still rehabbing from a serious knee injury that he suffered in December, the draft is becoming the likeliest option for the team to address the center position.