G Spencer Anderson preps to start in playoff debut for Steelers if Mason McCormick can’t play

Spencer Anderson has heard it plenty, particularly since he was drafted by the rival Pittsburgh Steelers some 20 months ago.

“Everybody always asks me if I’m a Ravens fan, but I’m not,” Anderson said Thursday from UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “I actually lived closer (as a child) to the Redskins (than the Ravens), but I grew up a Cowboys fan.”

Growing up in Bowie, Md., Anderson’s mother and other members of his family raised him to root for Dallas’ NFL team.

But less than an hour’s drive from Anderson’s hometown, he could make his first NFL postseason start Saturday.

With Mason McCormick regarded as questionable to play because of a broken left hand, Anderson is the proverbial next man up if McCormick is unable to go against the Baltimore Ravens in a wild-card round game Saturday night.

“Obviously, it’s been a while,” Anderson said of making a start. “But you just have to be ready whenever your number is called, regardless, because something could happen in the middle of a game and you’ve got to be ready.”

A seventh-round pick in 2023, Anderson has been in uniform for 26 career games — including playing three special-teams snaps during the playoffs last year — and has appeared in all 17 games this season.

Anderson started the first three games of the season at left guard when veteran Isaac Seumalo was out because of a pectoral injury but ceded that spot to McCormick for a Week 4 game in Indianapolis.

But when veteran James Daniels suffered a season-ending Achilles tear that day, Anderson filled in the rest of the game at right guard, his most natural spot along the offensive line. Anderson has experience in college and during training camp playing tackle and center, too.

McCormick, ultimately, started the final 13 games of the season at right guard, but Anderson replaced him for the final two offensive series of last week’s regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals after McCormick suffered his injury.

Anderson played some “eligible” jumbo tight end throughout the season.

He said he kept a positive approach after he was surpassed on the depth chart by a rookie in McCormick.

“Mason, he’s been great,” Anderson said. “Obviously, some people could easily be like, ‘Hey, aren’t you mad about or sad about (being replaced),’ but you know, no. That’s immature to (react that way). That’s not really being a good teammate or being a good player or being a good person. That’s not in my character.”

If Anderson plays, he could present a case to be considered as a starter for next season. Daniels is a free agent unlikely to be re-signed.