Pouncey embraces season of change on the line

For eight years, Maurkice Pouncey lined up next to the same two guys. On his right, it was David DeCastro. And on his left, it was Ramon Foster.

That kind of stability on an offensive line in the NFL is rare, which has made this year’s training camp unique for the Steelers’ starting center. As Pouncey enters the 11th season of his standout career, he’s getting used to some new players at his side.

Matt Feiler, after two seasons as the starting right tackle, has moved to left guard to take the spot of Foster, who retired after last season. DeCastro remains at right guard, but he has missed a lot of camp with injuries, which has given veteran free agent Stefen Wisniewski and rookie Kevin Dotson plenty of reps next to Pouncey.

“With Matt, it has come along really easily,” Pouncey said Thursday morning. “We’ve been around each other a long time. He’s obviously a strong player that can move really, really well. He’s locked in to the offense. He knows the ins and outs, how we block, how we

protect.

“I just think with the other guys, Dotson, he’s a younger guy. He’s trying to learn. He’s very, very strong, powerful. He can move well. Obviously, when you’re a young guy, you’re doing a whole bunch of wild stuff. I think he’s going to be a great player here pretty soon down the line. Wiz is a veteran player. He’s a really, really smart guy. He kind of knows the ins and outs of football. He knows how to adjust whenever blocks come, things like that. It’s good to have another voice in there that can talk a little bit deeper about defenses and understanding the true game.”

It’s definitely a new era for the offensive line. Either Chuks Okorafor or Zach Banner will be the starting right tackle, giving the Steelers new players at two positions. For a unit that excelled for years because of the continuity within the group, this season will be somewhat of a transition year as new players work their way into the lineup and others find new roles on the line.

For Pouncey, this truncated training camp has been rejuvenating in a sense. While saying goodbye to old friends is hard, the new players bring new energy to the room.

“It has been a fun experience,” Pouncey said. “As you get older, they bring in guys and you are just so built on trying to create them and help them become great players so they can go on and have great careers and futures. I think the Steelers have done a great job of bringing guys in, as far as draft picks and free agent guys.

“The young guys they have coming up right now as far as Dotson and Chuks and Banner, I think the Steelers are heading in the right direction. It is very positive, man. I just enjoy the moments. As you get older, you kind of lose some of the stuff that you look forward to, and those guys have brought a lot of energy back to the room, and I really appreciate that.”

Pouncey, a two- time firstteam All- Pro and seven- time Pro Bowler, is back to 100% after tearing the meniscus in his left knee in the second- to- last game of the season against the Jets. The Steelers advised him to rehab the injury rather than have surgery. He said it was the right decision.

“Being an older player, that is kind of like your lubrication for your joints,” Pouncey said. “I think it was a smarter decision just to rehab it throughout the offseason. I had a lot of time to work and get myself strong in that area. I kind of got lucky with the aspect of it not being a lingering issue, so hopefully it stays that way throughout the season.”

Dealing with injuries and rehabs are nothing new to Pouncey. He missed the 2013 season when he tore the ACL in his right knee in the season opener. He missed the 2015 season after fracturing the fibula in his left leg, an injury that required seven procedures due to an infection and other complications.

Since that injury, Pouncey has been a rock in the middle of the line. He missed only two starts in 2016 and 2017 before playing in all 16 games in 2018. He missed three games last season, but two of them were for the suspension he served after coming to the aid of quarterback Mason Rudolph after Myles Garrett attacked him with a helmet in November.

Pouncey is signed through the 2021 season, the same year Ben Roethlisberger’s contract expires. Next year Pouncey will count $ 14.4 million against the salary cap, in a year the cap could go down as much as $ 23 million due to the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Pouncey doesn’t sound like a player who is thinking about walking away from the game.

“I just think for me personally, it is all about having fun and enjoying it,” Pouncey said. “For me, contract is not an issue, years in the league is not an issue. I think for me, it’s just every day I’m coming in and I’m enjoying it still. I think that the fact that the guys that we are bringing up, we have a good young group. The guys are still motivated, and I feel like I can still do it at a very high level. Until somebody proves me otherwise, then I will be playing.”