The Pittsburgh Steelers signed C Ryan McCollum to a one-year deal, the team announced today. McCollum has served as Pittsburgh’s top backup center each of the last two seasons.
McCollum was non-tendered as a restricted free agent but returns to the Steelers for another year.
With McCollum in the fold, the Steelers bring back a veteran who gave them reliable play in 2024 when Zach Frazier missed time with an injury. He played just 10 offensive snaps last year but did see some special teams action with 76 special teams snaps. He started two games in 2024 after Frazier suffered an injury, which was his most extensive NFL action and first game action since 2021 with the Detroit Lions.
The 28-year-old McCollum originally signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M. He began his career on Houston’s practice squad but was signed by the Detroit Lions, where he played in 13 games with one start in 2021. The Steelers claimed him off waivers in August 2022, and he hasn’t played for another team since.
While he’s occasionally been yo-yo’d off the practice squad, the Steelers have brought McCollum back and he signed reserve/futures deals with the team ahead of both 2023 and 2024. He’s been a mainstay on the active roster the last two seasons and he has the inside track to make the 53-man roster again to serve as Frazier’s backup.
McCollum has played 265 career offensive snaps with the majority of them coming in 2024, when he played 154 snaps. He’s also logged 189 total special teams snaps. Last season, he was used as an extra offensive lineman for five snaps, with one coming against the Packers in Week 8 and four coming in a Week 15 win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. While that was a role Spencer Anderson played for the Steelers last season, McCollum could be looked at to fill it this season, with Anderson currently projected to start at left guard for the Steelers.
Contract details for McCollum were not announced, though the deal likely won’t cost the Steelers much money. The Steelers could’ve given McCollum a right-of-first-refusal tender totaling $3,520,000, but opted not to. This contract is almost certainly going to come in lower than that amount.
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