Thirteen days before the season opener in Buffalo, the Steelers are playing musical chairs along the offensive line yet again. And the chairs being rearranged are of the utmost importance to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
During practice on Monday, rookie Dan Moore Jr. played left tackle while Chukwuma Okorafor played right tackle. Okorafor had been at left tackle since he started practicing about three weeks ago and played there in the final three preseason games. Moore began camp with the starters at left tackle while Okorafor was out with an injury, but he had been playing on the right side the past two weeks.
What does it all mean?
The most plausible explanation is the coaches are concerned Zach Banner, the veteran who is penciled in to be the starter at right tackle, won’t be ready time in to face the Bills. Coach Mike Tomlin declined to address Banner’s injury situation after practice, but he said after the preseason finale in Carolina on Friday night that Banner did not travel with the team in order to remain in Pittsburgh to get treatment.
Banner is coming off an ACL surgery and his participation in camp practices and preseason games has been sporadic.
“Dan is definitely more comfortable at left because he played that in college,” left guard Kevin Dotson said after practice.
Okorafor was the starting right tackle last season, and all 19 of his career starts have come on the right side. He had been making the transition to the left side throughout the offseason after the departure of Alejandro Villanueva, who signed with Baltimore as a free agent in the spring.
“That’s his original spot, too,” Dotson said of Okorafor. “I think it’s best for both of them.”
Tomlin wouldn’t go that far. He passed off the switch merely as looking at his options. But after offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and his linemen spoke about the importance of developing continuity as a starting five for the past few weeks, it’s highly unlikely Tomlin would revisit toying with this group so close to the start of the season unless there were legitimate concerns about Banner’s ability to begin the season healthy.
“He’s versatile,” Tomlin said of Okorafor. “Dan Moore is versatile. Joe [Haeg] is versatile. Everybody really plays right and left other than Banner. We’re going to keep working our versatility in an effort to put our best available group together. We’ll determine at a later date what that is.”
Haeg, who signed a two-year deal in the spring worth $4.6 million to be the swing tackle, hasn’t played much at all with the first-team offense. It’s been Moore, a fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M, who has drawn the praise of Tomlin and his teammates for his improved play throughout camp.
Moore was a turnstile during the first week of camp, getting beaten routinely during one-on-one drills by the likes of Alex Highsmith and other veterans. But since then, he’s probably been the team’s most improved player.
“I like Dan as a player,” defensive end Chris Wormley said. “As a rookie, you want to see improvement, and I’ve seen that every day from him. And he’s played well in the preseason games and the practices. I’m excited for him to continue to grow and to be a good player for us.”
Another layer to the matter could be Okorafor’s shaky play the past two weeks against the Lions and Panthers. Okorafor struggled at times in pass protection in both games, allowing pressure as the blindside protector.
Moore was a three-year starter at left tackle in the SEC, which Tomlin previously likened to “dog years” in terms of his development. When he was asked on Monday if he felt more comfortable playing Moore at left tackle due to his experience there, Tomlin downplayed it.
“I hadn’t assessed it in that way,” he said. “I’m just giving him days to work on both sides. At a later date, we’ll assess what’s best for him. If we need him, obviously, we’ll use him.”
No matter what spin Tomlin wanted to put on it after practice, moving players around less than two weeks before the regular season is not an ideal scenario. And it’s hard to imagine he would do it unless he felt Banner wasn’t going to be available for the Buffalo game.
“They’re growing with each outing,” Tomlin said of his young line. “They’ll be ready on the 12th.”
They better be, or it could be a long afternoon for Roethlisberger.
