The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a rocky start to the 2026 season under new head coach Mike McCarthy. The hopes were high due to the coach's background on the offensive side of the ball and his experience as a successful play caller while also being a head coach, but things have been hard to watch on offense. The group has scored just one touchdown through two games, and the Steelers could only muster up three points during their embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots in Week 2. A big problem for Pittsburgh has been the offensive line, and it has been holding back the passing and running game.
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Steelers' Mike McCarthy walks off of the field after beating the Atlanta Falcons in his first game as the coach in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh has invested a bunch into the offensive line in recent years. Three of the team's last four first-round picks were spent on tackles, and Zach Frazier was drafted in the second round back in 2024. He has been good, but the offensive line as a whole has seemed to regress. Troy Fautanu has struggled at left tackle, Mason McCormick has been solid at left guard, but the right side is in shambles. Spencer Anderson had the worst game of his career at right guard against New England, and Dylan Cook has been shaky at right tackle.
It was expected that some possible shakeup could happen on the right side of the offensive line, and reporters took videos of Frazier working with Brock Hoffman at right guard and Max Iheanachor at right tackle during individual drills within the last week. Reporters are allowed to take videos during that portion of practice, so they did nothing wrong, but Mark Kaboly shared on Kaboly + Mack that team officials didn't like that being let out in the open.
“It’s not official," Kaboly said. "But they did get their panties in a bunch the other day when we videotaped the individuals of those guys working together, so that kind of tells you all you need to hear. I’m kind of surprised that he would go that route.”
It has been hypothesized that Anderson is being replaced by Hoffman and Cook is being replaced with Iheanachor for Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but nothing has been made official. Teams usually try to keep things like this close to the vest to try to gain some sort of competitive advantage, which is why members of the organization may have been a bit upset about the video being put on social media.
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Steelers' Max Iheanachor puts his helmet on during mandatory minicamp in 2026.
It would be understandable if both Anderson and Cook were benched, but it is a little early in the season to be doing wholesale changes like this. Anderson did chip a bone in his leg early on in the game against the Patriots, and that could be a reason for his poor play. If that is the case, he shouldn't be allowed to start another game until he is fully healthy. Cook is a good backup, but he just isn't meant to be a starter at the NFL level. That means it might be time to give the rookie a shot, while Cook would probably serve as the top backup at both tackle spots.
Steelers' Max Iheanachor Has A Big Moment Ahead Of Him
If the changes seen in practice that the organization was upset about are true, Iheanachor has a big moment ahead of him as the Steelers prepare to take on the Bengals. The rookie has high expectations being placed on him as he was a first-round pick, but he is still a pretty raw prospect that has not been playing football for a long time. If he starts, he will be going against one of the best defenses in the NFL through the first two weeks of the year. It is also a critical AFC North contest, so the pressure is extremely high for what might be his first NFL start.
What do you think of the organization getting upset about potential changes being reported? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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