INDIANAPOLIS -- The CBA proposal sent out for a vote by the NFLPA to its membership this week includes an increase in roster size from 53 to 55 players.
It appears that one of those spots is designated for an offensive lineman per the language of the agreement that includes the addition of teams being able to keep an additional offensive lineman active on game days. That could be critical to the Steelers' plans on how they approach free agency this offseason.
The Steelers are expected to move on from left guard Ramon Foster even if the salary cap increases to $230 million as is currently projected if the new deal is approved. They would see $4 million in salary cap savings by releasing the 34-year-old.
But that also would leave a spot open in their starting lineup.
Some have suggested the Steelers try to fill that starting roster spot by taking an interior offensive lineman with their first pick in this year's draft. But that pick doesn't come until No. 49 after they dealt their 2020 first-round selection to the Dolphins for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. And this is not a strong year for interior offensive linemen. None are expected to be selected in the first round. That means the Steelers could have a shot at one of the top guards or centers.
But do they want to fill that spot with a second-round -- or later -- pick?
The more likely plan would be to re-sign veteran B.J. Finney and plug him in at left guard. Or, the Steelers could move right tackle Matt Feiler to guard and allow veterans Zach Banner and Chuks Okorafor to battle for the right tackle spot.
The downside of plugging Finney in at left guard is that he's also been the team's backup center. And many teams, including the Steelers, don't like to play their backup center because if there's an injury, in this case to Maurkice Pouncey, now they would have to make a change at two spots on the line.
So if the Steelers go the route of re-signing Finney, will they look to draft a true center to fill that additional line spot with another center? That seems to be a possibility, as the Steelers have met with some center prospects here at the NFL Scouting Combine, including LSU's Lloyd Cushenberry.
That also would make sense given that Pouncey will turn 31 in July and has been an outspoken opponent of the new CBA. Pouncey has had ankle issues for the past several years after missing the 2015 season with a broken fibula that required several surgeries and bothers him to this day.
Pouncey has stated in the past that he'll play as long as Ben Roethlisberger sticks around. And Roethlisberger, who turns 38 next month, has two years remaining on his current contract.
With Pouncey upset over the new CBA presumably because it would include playing a 17-game season at some point in the future, taking a center would make sense at some point in the draft. After all, Pouncey could decide he would rather retire than play a 17-game regular season.
That's especially true if the Steelers also intend to sign Finney and put him in the starting lineup. They'll want to have another center on their roster.
• The other interesting thing that could come out of a 17-game regular season and increased roster is teams carrying at least one additional running back.
As things stand now around the league, many teams use a running back-by-committee approach. Thinking that one running back can make it through 17 games unscathed on a regular basis might be a bit much to ask. After all, a running back who averages 20 carries per game would have 340 carries in a 17-game schedule.
We might see more teams go to a committee approach with 17 games.
At the very least, teams better have at least two backs on their roster who they feel is capable of carrying the load.
Another player with whom the Steelers met with here is Florida State's Cam Akers, a solid second-day (rounds 2 or 3) running back who catches the ball well and rushed for 2,875 yards in three seasons behind a bad offensive line.
• Tight end also has been a focus for the Steelers as, at the very least, No. 2 tight end Nick Vannett is headed to free agency.
The one tight end the Steelers have definitely met with was Missouri's Albert Okwuegbunam. None of this year's tight ends were considered to have first-round potential but Okwuegbunam might have changed that Thursday when the tight ends took the field to run their 40-yard dashes.
Okwuegbunam ran the fastest 40 of the tight end group at 4.49 seconds. And he's 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds.
Okwuegbunam might have run himself right out of the Steelers' range.