Tim Benz: Two ways that a new CBA rule may help the Steelers

An element of the new NFL collective bargaining agreement should benefit the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Well, it’s going to benefit every NFL team. But based on the Steelers’ current roster construction, recent offseason moves and potential plans for the draft, it may help them more than most.

At least in 2020.

According to the new CBA, game day rosters are going to expand from 46 players to 48 players. Obviously, all NFL coaches will be happy with the additional flexibility, as will some fringe players on the roster who at least get to put on a uniform and run out of the tunnel, even if they don’t get on the field on game day.

One catch, though. Via the NFL.com explanation of the rules, unless a team is willing to dress eight offensive linemen, it only gets to dress 47. So, in theory, the gameday roster construction comes down to 40 players plus eight offensive linemen.

If you only dress seven offensive linemen, you only get to dress 47 in total.

The Steelers dressed seven offensive linemen 15 of 16 games last year with the road game in Los Angeles against the Chargers being the lone exception. Chuks Okorafor dressed as an eighth in that game but did not play. He suited up in two others during the season and played in one (home versus the Los Angeles Rams in Game 9).

What this new rule may do is allow the Steelers to feel comfortable enough to have newly signed offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski start at left guard, even though he may also go into the season as the backup center.

One thing that may have held back B.J. Finney from getting more playing time in Pittsburgh — before he went to Seattle via free agency earlier this month — is that he served as the backup for both guards and the center on game days.

The Steelers were always concerned about starting Finney at left guard, then potentially having an in-game injury to him, thus leaving no experienced center to back up Maurkice Pouncey if he should go down in the same game.

By season’s end, it could’ve been argued that Finney may have been a better option at left guard than Ramon Foster, who had battled injuries in 2019 and eventually retired as the new league year was beginning.

Yet Finney was still just a reserve.

This issue manifested in that game versus the Rams when a healthy Finney dressed but didn’t start in place of an inactive Foster at left guard.

That day, the Steelers moved starting right tackle Matt Feiler to left guard, and Okorafor started at right tackle. There may have been some matchup issues afoot there as well against the Rams, with Aaron Donald on the other side of the ball. But, valuing Finney’s swing capabilities over starting him was also believed to have played a role.

That’s overthinking things in my opinion. While Donald didn’t wreck the game and the Steelers won, the offense only totaled 42 yards on 27 carries that day.

Fortunately, this new rule mitigates that concern. Now, the Steelers can start Wisniewski at left guard if they are so inclined, and they can dress an eighth offensive lineman that can exclusively back up Pouncey or can be the chief reserve at guard and allow Wisniewski to play center midgame if need be.

Wisniewski accumulated 63 starts at center during his time in Oakland and Jacksonville.

The new roster construction could aid the Steelers when it comes to the running back position, too.

There is a lot of clamor about the Steelers potentially drafting a running back with one of their first two draft choices (No. 49 or No. 102).

Given the team’s measly 90.4 yards per game on the ground — fourth from the bottom in the NFL — that would make sense.

Furthermore, there are concerns regarding James Conner’s frequent injuries and his expiring contract status after 2020.

Yet, despite the failure of the collective when it comes to the running back position, there appear to be five running backs on the roster that the franchise likes for various reasons.

Both Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II have expressed hope that Conner can bounce back from a 2019 campaign that saw him play only 32% of the offensive snaps and average a career-worst 4.0 yards per carry.

Rookie Benny Snell showed some promise when leaned on during games against the Chargers (75 yards on Oct. 13), Cincinnati Bengals (98 yards on Nov. 24), and Baltimore Ravens (91 yards on Dec. 29).

Jaylen Samuels still appears to have value as a pass catcher. Kerrith Whyte averaged 5.1 yards per carry in limited chances and emerged as the team’s best kick returner. And Trey Edmunds became a core special teamer.

It got to the point where head coach Mike Tomlin dressed all five players when healthy against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in Games 14 and 15.

Under the old rules, would the Steelers have really dressed six running backs if a high-profile rookie was added to that mix? Probably not.

Now, though, if Tomlin wanted to do that, he could. Especially if Whyte and Edmunds are viewed as “running backs” in name (and emergency) only and are restricted to special teams capacities.

With depth as thin as it is at inside and outside linebacker and tight end, the existing running backs may need to soak up some of those special teams duties.

Or someone among Conner, Snell and Samuels could be traded, released or just sit on gameday.

The growth of the practice squad to 12 players, plus expanded rules protecting players from waivers could help the Steelers in this regard as well. Namely, the ability to designate “two players with unlimited accrued seasons on the practice squad.”

However, in the days after that 17-10 loss to the Bills, Tomlin admitted having so many backs being involved in practice (along with guess work on the health of Samuels and Conner) became cumbersome in terms of figuring out the reps.

That’s a different issue entirely. But if the organization sees a potentially impactful running back for 2020 or 2021 on the draft board during Day 2, the availability to dress more running backs than in the past now exists.

For a team with as little cap space and draft cache as the Steelers have, any way possible to lend versatility and options should be welcomed.

Clearly it will be.