Exit Meeting: C Ryan McCollum
Experience: 3 Years
Ryan McCollum has worked his way up to being the Steelers’ top backup center. Now a restricted free agent, he needs a new deal. Do they think he is worth $3,520,000, the lowest tender amount? He very well may be, given the price of a decent backup lineman. But it doesn’t appear that the Steelers intend to tender him. If they do not, he will be an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year.
Originally a college free agent out of Texas A&M in 2021, Ryan McCollum found a roster spot in Detroit that season, even starting a game and playing 101 total offensive snaps. He spent the next two years largely on the Steelers’ practice squad, however. Since 2024, he has been on the 53-man roster, mostly as the backup center.
While he only played 10 snaps last year, McCollum started two games in 2024 in place of Zach Frazier. He logged a career-high 154 snaps, and he held his own. He has also acquitted himself well in preseason games, so there is nothing suggesting he should be replaced.
That said, with the number of draft picks they have, the Steelers shouldn’t shy away from continuing to invest in young talent along their offensive line. At the very least, they still need more depth. Bracing to lose left guard Isaac Seumalo, they are shorthanded. If Spencer Anderson moves into the starting lineup, they would need to make some kind of move. And Broderick Jones’ health status even makes the tackle position uncertain and unstable.
But for now, as it pertains to Ryan McCollum, all that matters is getting him under contract again. Unless, of course, the Steelers’ new coaching staff has other ideas about offensive line depth. James Campen and company will have connections with other linemen, perhaps more experienced reserve centers. But as long as McCollum’s price tag isn’t too high, there’s no such thing as too much depth. And frankly, I can’t imagine him costing very much at all.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves licking their wounds after yetanother early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, but with major change coming. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we willgo down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? The resignation of Mike Tomlin makes those questions much more difficult to answer, but much more important. We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
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