Steelers To Start 26th Different Offensive Line Combination In Last Four Season On Sunday

With starting center Fernando Velasco now out for the season after suffering an Achilles injury Thursday night in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers will more than likely give Cody Wallace the start at center Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. There is also a chance that both Kelvin Beachum and Mike Adams might not be ready to play, but regardless, it is guaranteed to be the sixth different starting offensive line combination used this season.

If it feels like the Steelers start a new combination every few weeks, it is pretty much because they do. In fact, Sunday will mark the 26th different starting combination used dating back to Week 1 of the 2010 season. That’s a span of 61 regular season games and breaks down to a different one every 2.35 games.

You have to go all the way back to the 2009 season to find stability on the Steelers offensive line. That season they had four offensive linemen start all 16 regular season games and only two different staring line combinations were used that season. The four iron men that season were Justin Hartwig, Willie Colon, Max Starks and Trai Essex.

Remember, there will still be three regular season games left after Sunday and it is a good bet we will see at least a 27th different starting offensive line combination, if not more, used before they end the season.

Below is an updated list of the starting offensive line combinations used dating back to Week 1 of the 2010 season.