Steelers' Mike McCarthy May Try To Take Offensive Player's Job Away For 1 Demoralizing Reason

The Pittsburgh Steelers have made some major changes to the roster in 2026. In 2025, Pittsburgh was built to be much older and more experienced, but that did not work well. Most of its new acquisitions are younger players closer to their prime. This form of roster construction has helped bring more depth to nearly every single position. New head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff seem to have a lot more to work with now, and this should hopefully lead to more consistency. 

That includes the offensive line, which has been worked on for years now. The Steelers added two rookies that will likely serve as depth pieces for now, but could easily end up being starters in the future. They also signed guard Brock Hoffman to add to the interior offensive line room. He's been competing at right guard during training camp, but he can play center and left guard if injuries pop up. 

Hoffman may end up being the Week 1 starter over Spencer Anderson when it's all said and done. While making an appearance on The North Shore Drive Podcast, insider Ray Fittipaldo explained what exactly is going on at right guard currently. 

"I think they're going to give Brock Hoffman those opportunities..." Fittipaldo said. "I've been around long enough to know that if you bring someone in who you're familiar with, who played for you previously, you have a little bit more of an opportunity than the incumbent would have. I'm not saying it's over; I'm just saying from the time they signed Brock Hoffman, I think this is a real possibility that he could beat out Spencer Anderson... I thought Hoffman always had an opportunity because of his connection to McCarthy, and I think he's going to get those reps now to prove he can be the guy."

Anderson had nearly all of the first-team reps in the early parts of training camp, but Hoffman has been slowly getting more and more chances to run with the starters. Despite that, there have still been many positive things coming out about Anderson's performance. He is definitely more versatile than the new guard, being also able to play tackle in the past, but Hoffman excelled last Thursday in preseason.

If the Steelers want to keep 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers upright, they can't afford to let past experiences determine the starting lineup. Both Anderson and Hoffman have had their shining moments up to this point, but Anderson has done well in every single role asked of him. That has continued to be the case throughout the practices in 2026. Can Hoffman continue to show his elite versatility as well, is the real question.

The biggest thing here could be the chemistry. Anderson has plenty of that with all the offensive tackles from when he was a swing tackle. He has had plenty of reps at guard in recent years, so he has plenty of chemistry with Zach Frazier. It's going to be very hard for Hoffman to replicate that kind of mental aspect, even if he can match the former seventh-round pick physically. 

Steelers Had Interesting Situation With Hoffman Early In Offseason

On one of the first days of the 2026 free agency period, the Steelers announced that they signed Hoffman, although he later confirmed that that was not the case via a Dallas Cowboys insider. Eventually, the two sides did agree to terms, but it seemed like he had to agree to a much smaller contract than initially thought due to this unexpected delay.

What do you think about Hoffman possibly winning the starting job over Anderson because of his familiarity with McCarthy? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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