Center Mason Cole has been proving week-in and week-out how critical drafting a top center in 2024 will be. He’s not made things easy on the quarterback — no matter who it is. Cole’s true colors have shown brightly over the past two weeks, not in a good way, after botching several snaps, leading to negative plays.
After Mitch Trubisky stepped in for the injured Kenny Pickett in Week 13, Cole put a snap at Trubisky’s feet, and the defense closed in, securing a turnover, which led to a James Connor score. It was more of the same in the Steelers’ loss to the Patriots, with three errant snaps on the game’s first drive.
And although Mike Tomlin does not seek comfort, he seeks comfort when it comes to Cole.
“There’s certain routine things that we work routinely,” Tomlin said on Monday. “We don’t wait until they become a problem in an effort to address it. C-Q exchanges is something that happens on a routine daily basis and we’ll continue with that.”
Tomlin had the perfect opportunity to sit Cole, who had a questionable designation heading into Week 14 with a neck injury. Nate Herbig sits behind Cole on the depth chart and is perfectly capable of snapping the ball the way it should be.
Tomlin sees it yet isn’t willing to address it. “I acknowledge that we’ve had some that hadn’t been good of late, but our behavior regarding it hasn’t changed because we’re not reactionary. We like to be out in front of those things. We value routine things happening routinely.”
Lately, that routine has been botched snaps. When it happens again in Indianapolis, Tomlin will regret not getting in front of it.
“It’s playoff football, four weeks early,” Cole said on Tuesday. Perhaps start playing like it.
