Max Iheanachor Mason McCormick Steelers preseason Packers
Max Iheanachor Mason McCormick Steelers preseason Packers
Is starting Week 1 on the table for Max Iheanachor?
With Max Iheanachor back on the practice field and evidently on track to play the final preseason game, will he enter the starting lineup? Thus far, the first-round pick’s reputation rests primarily on a few nice days of padded practices. Due to injury, he missed the first two preseason games, so in-stadium work is absolutely critical.
While Iheanachor is the future, they don’t necessarily need him to be the present. Dylan Cook could be a capable placeholder, but the Steelers may want to get their young hopeful onto the field as soon as he is ready. The question is when he will be ready, and how the team will know it.
Those on the outside haven’t seen him at all yet, since he hasn’t played in the preseason to date. Should he play in the final preseason game, we will get our first glimpse at him then. Based on observations from training camp, however, he looked like a first-round pick.
While the Steelers knew Max Iheanachor had first-round talent, it was less clear that he came into the league NFL-ready. Because of his limited football background, many put the project label on him. But he did have ample playing time at the college level, even if he wasn’t born wrapped in a Terrible Towel.
Pretty much since the first day of pads, many instantly switched their thinking on him. Rather than a redshirt year, starting in Week 1 suddenly seemed like a realistic possibility. An injury days later put that option on the backburner, but now that he is back on the practice field, it at least reopens the conversation.
But is there enough time, and opportunity, between now and September 13 for Iheanachor to convince the coaches that he should be the Week 1 starter? He will only have, at most, one preseason game under his belt. And for a player who seemed to step up to another level in padded practices, his rise is pretty recent. Even his teammates and coaches are speaking glowingly of him since his return this week, so it’s hard to ignore.
The Steelers have a long road ahead of them under Mike McCarthy, along with his cadre of quarterbacks.With seven consecutive postseason losses, and no wins in nearly a decade, they are under fire for their repeated playoff failures. While we have seen many changes, none could dream of topping Mike Tomlin resigning.
We’re already out of training camp, with free agency and the draft already reshaping rosters. The Steelers, of course, are used to early offseason mode as a team thatloses by the middle of January all the time. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
terrible-podcast-2026-august-24-episode-3144
terrible-podcast-2026-august-24-episode-3144