Steelers' Mike McCarthy Gives Loads Of Praise To Young Leader Stepping Up In New Role

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a massive offensive breakthrough in their Week 3 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. They put up 30 points against a defense that had shown improvements early in the season. It all started with the offensive line playing better than it did before. That unit wasn't exactly great, but progress was still made, and it's still something that can be built off of as the campaign progresses. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come, as opposed to just a one-off that gets forgotten about quickly. 

There were a lot of improvements made to the line, but one stood out in particular. Head Coach Mike McCarthy spoke about that during his weekly McCarthy Monday press conference.

"I thought Zach [Frazier] took a big step, not only as a performer as far as his performance, but as a captain," McCarthy said. "I thought he did a nice job opening up his heart, and you can see how much his teammates appreciated him."

Center Zach Frazier was expected to step up as a leader in his third year on the team. Despite his youth, he has the most starts out of anyone on the original starting five, and he is expected to be the core communicator now. Isaac Seumalo is no longer there to take the lead for him. Everyone in the position group is now looking up to him on game day, and he needs to keep improving in this role.

McCarthy is going against tradition and is naming captains each week, as opposed to just naming one group of people to lead the team for the whole season. It's interesting that Frazier got the nod in Week 3 considering his communication issues the week before, but he managed to prove his head coach right and the earn the trust of his teammates and coaches. 

Throughout the first half, Frazier was able to do his part in containing star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence with his own strong ability, as well as orchestrating double-teams to make sure he can't escape. He struggled to keep that up throughout the whole game, but that's a lesson learned for the captain, as he needs to figure out how to counter-adjust when the defense starts doing something different.

Frazier's performance overall will go a long way to him gaining favor with the organization, especially his quarterback. It's known that Aaron Rodgers is very particular about how he wants things done. In his second year working with the quarterback, the center has proven to be able to handle all of that. The communication is improving each week, and he is still playing at a very high level.

Steelers Will Have To Break The Bank To Keep Frazier Around

The Steelers were probably very unhappy when Tyler Linderbaum reset the center market by making $9 million per year more than the next highest-paid player at that position. With how well Frazier is playing, he is going to command a massive payday to stick around. Pittsburgh most likely won't be able to get away with lowballing him with how crucial he is to this team.

There are still many negative reports coming out about Joey Porter Jr.'s contract situation, especially with how he is upset about how the Steelers gave him an insulting offer before refusing to negotiate any further. While that all is true, Frazier's negotiations will be a completely different situation with how much he affects the decision making and performance of the guys around him.

If the Steelers lowball Frazier to the point where he holds in, the whole offense is likely going to crumble. Guys like him don't grow on trees, and it is borderline impossible to find a center that has the chemistry with the rest of the line like he does. When Rodgers retires, the young quarterbacks will be relying on the star center to help identify different things in the defense and keep them upright.

What do you think about McCarthy praising Frazier's ability as a captain? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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