A backup guard? Swing tackle? Emergency center? Eligible tight end?
What, exactly, was Spencer Anderson’s role as a rookie for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
The answer, of course, is “all of the above.”
Like all players, Anderson would love to earn a starting spot and stick to one position. But for now, he embraces his versatile role that kept him on the roster throughout his rookie NFL season.
“Whether it’s play slot receiver or backup quarterback — that’d be pretty funny — no matter what it is, I am kind of just going with it,” Anderson said.
That attitude served the 6-foot-5, 304-pound Anderson well as a seventh-round pick this past season. For a player taken with the 251st overall pick — that’s eight spots away from “Mr. Irrelevant” status — just making the Steelers’ active roster as a rookie was an accomplishment in itself.
Not only did Anderson make — and stick on — the 53-man roster, he was in uniform for every game. Again, that’s no small feat for a player’s first year after being taken that late in the draft.
“Obviously, I had expectations to play more or whatever, but it’s not always under your control,” Anderson said last week when the Steelers met en masse for the final time. “But for the experiences I did get this year I thought it went pretty well.”
Anderson joins defensive back Tre Norwood (2021) as the only Steelers’ seventh-round picks over the past eight seasons to be active for each regular-season game as a rookie.
Then again, Anderson only got in to eight games and played only two offensive snaps.
Still, sticking on the roster all season (and earning the accompanying full $750,000 base salary that came with it) is rare for a seventh-round pick.
“You always expect more out of yourself,” Anderson said. “But I can’t really complain. Rookie year was awesome. I can’t be mad at that. Hopefully come back even stronger next year and go even further.”
Throughout this season, a typical practice day for Anderson mirrored what you think it might for a player in his role. It could differ from day to day or week to week or even snap to snap, pending circumstances of players around him.
Late in the season, for example, veteran starting left guard Isaac Seumalo rarely practiced as he nursed a shoulder injury. That meant most days Anderson repped at left guard.
But early in the season when starting right guard James Daniels was out because of a groin injury, Anderson would practice at right guard. Injuries and the churn of the practice squad at times created holes on the depth chart that needed to be filled in for the scout team at positions up and down the offensive line.
“It’s good playing every spot at this level because in college, you kind of get away with that because you might be (more naturally talented) than a lot of people (you’re blocking),” Anderson said. “But not at this level. So it was good getting that experience at different positions at this level because you can continue to carve out of a role for yourself, and I feel I proved that throughout camp and throughout this year. Always being ready and able to be there for whatever might be needed.”
Anderson made at least one start at all five line positions during his college career at Maryland. That surely is part of what made him attractive to the Steelers during the draft, and it also is what figures to keep him on the roster next year and, hopefully for Anderson, several years in the NFL.
“I know that my particular skill set is unique, and (it is) what serves the greater group,” Anderson said.
“Wherever I am needed, it’s where I’m gonna be.”
