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The Pittsburgh Steelers are thin at a couple positions, and offensive line is certainly one of them. After Jerald Hawkins, who was supposed to be the leader in the clubhouse for the team’s swing tackle role, tore his quadriceps during offseason workouts, it has stressed the depth all along the line.
Rookie Chukwuma Okorafor has been pressed into the primary backup role, Matt Feiler has been serving double duty as backup tackle and guard and B.J. Finney has been the primary backup along the interior offensive line positions.
On Sunday the team added depth at tackle by signing Kyle Meadows to the 90-man offseason roster, and they continued adding on Monday by signing former Oakland Raiders center/guard Oni Omoile to a one-year contract.
We have signed OL Oni Omoile to a one-year contract, and waived/injured OL Parker Collins.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 13, 2018
Omoile went undrafted out of Iowa State in 2016 and signed with the Raiders. He spent the his rookie season on the Raiders’ practice squad and then spent time with the Jaguars and Bengals last year without seeing any regular season action.
With B.J. Finney nursing a quadriceps injury, this could simply be to fill the void at the center position; however, the Steelers could use more depth at all positions along the line. Whether Omoile sticks around will purely be up to him, considering he will get more than enough opportunities to prove himself valuable.
The Steelers waived offensive lineman Parker Collins with an injury designation to make room for Omoile on the roster.
Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black-and-gold.