Mike Tomlin said he might go right up to the last minute when it came to naming a starting right tackle for the Steelers' season-opening game Monday night at MetLife Stadium against the Giants.
He didn't wait quite that long to name a replacement for Matt Feiler, who has moved inside to left guard.
As the Steelers got into their normal work week Wednesday for the upcoming game, Tomlin declared the right tackle competition over at the UPMC-Rooney Sports Complex.
"(Zach) Banner will be our starting right tackle," Tomlin said succinctly.
Banner, a third-year pro out of USC, edged third-year tackle Chuks Okorafor for that starting job in Week 1 against the Giants, though both still figure to play quite a bit.
Banner played just over 200 snaps a year ago as an additional lineman in six-man sets, something the team figures to continue to use.
But both players also showed enough in training camp to be in the team's long-term plans -- and still be in the mix if the other shows he can't get the job done.
"If I win, it will be exciting, but the minute you go out there and mess up, you’re done," Banner said last week. "The pressure stays on all the time."
Banner, a 2017 fourth-round draft pick of the Colts, has started just one game in his career, that coming last season when the Steelers opened a Week 9 win over the Bengals with a six-man offensive line.
Okorafor, meanwhile, has made four career starts in his two NFL seasons, including a spot start last year when Feiler kicked inside to left guard in place of injured Ramon Foster.
But Okorafor missed the better part of the second week of training camp with a groin injury, opening the door for Banner to see increased snaps with the first team.
Banner starting at right tackle could give the Steelers a much different look on the right side of their offensive line. Right guard David DeCastro has been hobbled by a calf injury throughout training camp and is expected to miss the regular season opener.
If he doesn't play, veteran Stefen Wisniewski, signed as a free agent in the offseason, could start in his place.