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The Steelers brought B.J. Finney back last month before the start of free agency, along with signing exclusive rights free agent J.C. Hassanauer. As of right now, that's their center depth. And if the season started today, Finney would be the starting center. They have a big void to fill at the center position with Maurkice Pouncey retiring in February and they decided to not sign a center in free agency. So, we'll have to see if they select a center high in the draft, who could be a plug-and-play player.
Pending on if that will occur, Finney would be the starting center in Week 1 of the 2021 season. When the Steelers signed Finney after he was released by the Bengals in March, Tomlin told Finney that his future is up to him.
"They just painted it with a broad-brush stroke," Finney told Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. "Coach (Mike) Tomlin told me my fate is in my hands and we will see where it leads. We always have control over it. It's just a matter of opportunities rolling our way. It's nice to be in more control than I had prior to.
"If that is where they want me to play, at center, I will accept the challenge. That is a legacy that is hard to live up to in Pittsburgh with all of the great centers we have been fortunate to have as an organization. To throw my name into the ring, to have the opportunity to be one of those centers, is amazing in itself. It's not something to be taken lightly, and I am not. I want to do the best that I can, and the best I know how to do it is how I have been raised to do it. Coach T knows that and sees that, and we will see where it leads."