With free agency winding down across the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers have likely made all of the significant additions they plan to make until the NFL draft kicks off in their home city. However, smaller moves to help bolster the depth of the roster are still happening, and their most recent pickup could end up playing a bigger role than fans might expect.
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly reported Saturday that the Steelers brought in former Dallas Cowboys center/guard Brock Hoffman on a one-year contract. The versatile offensive lineman is a former undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech from the 2022 class, and he has carved out a role in the NFL as a reliable backup and occasional starter. His time playing under head coach Mike McCarthy is notable as well.
With the Steelers also bringing back Ryan McCollum to be the backup center and guard Isaac Seumalo leaving in free agency, it appears that the Steelers may view Hoffman as a potential answer at left guard.
Pittsburgh Steelers signing of Brock Hoffman adds more competition for Isaac Seumalo's vacant left guard spot
Hoffman has played the vast majority of his NFL snaps at center and right guard, but he made one start at left guard for the Cowboys in Week 18 of last season. He looked relatively comfortable despite not playing there hardly at all before that game.
Is that one game enough for Hoffman to be considered a candidate for the vacant left guard spot? Unless the Steelers add a plug-and-play guard in the upcoming draft, they'd better hope it is.
As things stand, Spencer Anderson is slated to be the starter in Seumalo's stead. He made a few starts there last season when Seumalo missed time with varying degrees of success, but he seems better suited to play the sixth offensive lineman role that he did for most of last year.
Hoffman has played nearly double the number of career snaps as Anderson, and he has 16 starts compared to his seven. Anderson has the size and overall physical traits advantage, but Hoffman knows McCarthy's offense from his time playing under him from 2022 to 2024.
With neither player being a true standout up to this point in their careers, it could come down to a true training camp battle to determine who wins the starting spot. Again, that's assuming general manager Omar Khan doesn't have his sights set on a solution early on draft weekend.