A few weeks ago, Randy Fichtner sounded pretty sure about who the Steelers' starting right tackle would be.
The Steelers' offensive coordinator stood firmly behind Matt Feiler, who started 10 games at right tackle last season in place of injured starter Marcus Gilbert. The Steelers felt so good about the way he played, Gilbert was traded in the offseason to the Cardinals for a sixth-round draft pick.
"Oh yeah. Matt proved himself last year," Fichtner said when I asked him if Feiler was the team's starting right tackle. "I’m so proud of what Matt did. But that started here at training camp (last season). He was going to be the left guard one day. Then he’d be the right tackle. Then he’d be the left tackle. Then we said, ‘Start snapping.’ And he learned how to snap. That’s what we’re trying to do with those guys."
Unfortunately for Feiler, that jumping around to different spots has continued this season. With left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, center Maurkice Pouncey and guards Ramon Foster and David DeCastro sitting out various training camp practices — and in the case of Pouncey and DeCastro, both of the team's first two preseason games — Feiler has been tasked with playing guard more often than he's played tackle since the start of training camp.
It's definitely added some confusion among the Steelers offensive linemen about who the starting five are going to be in the team's third preseason game Sunday night at Tennessee. To this point, second-year tackle Chuks Okorafor has seen much more time at right tackle than Feiler, Fichtner's choice as the starter.
It's allowed Okorafor, a third-round draft pick in 2018, to put a lot of good things on tape at the position. Feiler? Not so much.
The coaching staff has still not told Feiler -- or anyone for that matter -- who the starting right tackle will be. But with Pouncey, who had been out with a back injury, and DeCastro, who had been nursing a knee issue, back at practice Monday as the Steelers returned to the Rooney Sports Complex, it appears it will become evident this week.
One thing is for sure: Feiler's ability to play multiple positions might be working against him. It shows his value, but it's also hurt him in terms of snaps at right tackle.
"For him, there’s a lot of value in it. I know for him, it’s big because it looks like he’s not going to play right tackle," Pouncey told me. "When you can play multiple positions and understand how to do it, it increases your value because you can play two positions."
Wait a second. What?
Feiler has played so little right tackle in this camp, it might be hurting him in his ability to hold down the job. Okorafor has gotten so comfortable playing on the right side, the team could be leaning toward keeping him there and allowing Feiler to be the swing player on game days, a player capable of stepping into the lineup at four spots, regardless of who might happen to suffer an in-game injury.
Feiler wants to start. He wants to play. The former undrafted rookie also wants what's best for the team, but he wouldn't mind settling in at one spot.
"It makes me more comfortable getting more time wherever they put me," he told me of playing one spot. "But I kind of expected this to happen, wherever the reps might come from. For me to be able to show I can help wherever they need me, it shows I can be there for the team."
That versatility could be working against him. He feels confident, though, if he's put back at right tackle — as opposed to playing left and right guard — he'll get right back to being the best guy for the job.
"It can throw your senses off a little if you're not used to it," he told me of switching sides on a daily basis. "It’s kind of like throwing a baseball right-handed and then doing it left-handed. It messes with your footwork a little bit. But after a couple of plays, you get back to it and it’s good. It’s like riding a bike."
At least that's what Feiler is hoping for. With everyone back and practicing, he'd like an opportunity to show he's still the best man for the job.
And the rest of the starting line will be out there this week -- barring some kind of major catastrophe in practice.
"Heck yeah," Pouncey told me when I asked if it was important for the group to play this week. "Even if it’s a preseason game, it’s nice to get out there. But when you’re doing stuff, even in practice, and you’ve been together as long as we have, there’s familiarity. But it’s going to be awesome for us all to be out there this week and playing and having a little bit of fun this week."
Feiler just hopes that it's him out there with the starting unit when the time comes for the Steelers to line up and play for real Sept. 8 against the Patriots in New England.
That decision, however, is now an unknown.
"No, I haven’t heard anything," he told me when I asked if a decision has been made. "I guess that decision will be made in Week 1."
