Dylan Cook's phone remained silent as he took five hours on Tuesday to decompress, turn on his Xbox, and play "FIFA" until the NFL's cut deadline passed.
By the time 4 p.m., rang, his phone didn't. He was set to remain a Steeler as a part of their 53-man roster to begin the season.
"I was a long day. A long, stressful day," Cook said after Wednesday's practice on the South Side. "... It means a lot. There's been a lot of good people along the way. As far as the journey, it's just another step in what I really had planned for myself. I had really high ambitions when I first started playing college football. It's just another step on the journey, and the work's really just beginning now."
It's not as if Cook didn't have to work more than most to get to this point to begin with.
Never mind going through the process of attaining degrees in sociology and public administration in college. He began his college football career at NAIA program Montana State-Northern as a quarterback in 2017 and later transferred to Football Championship Subdivision program Montana in 2018 as a walk-on offensive lineman, after he gave a thought of quitting football altogether. Some perseverance pulled through, as he ultimately went undrafted and wound up on the Buccaneers' practice squad as a rookie last season.
He signed with the Steelers in May and earned his spot throughout months of minicamp and training camp in Latrobe.
"In the offseason I maybe took a week off and then I was right back to it," Cook said. "I went out to Minnesota and started training again. The amount of time I put in and for (the Buccaneers) to release me after three days of football was a tough shake, but all you can do is keep pushing, control what you can, and keep pushing forward."
For as remarkable as Cook's path has been to earning a spot on the Steelers' 53-man roster, the underlying theme to be considered is what he adds to that room from a depth perspective. The Steelers carried nine offensive linemen on their initial roster released Tuesday: Dan Moore Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Mason Cole, James Daniels, Chukwuma Okorafor, Broderick Jones, Nate Herbig, Spencer Anderson, and Cook.
Note the makeup of the projected backups. While Herbig brings four years of experience as an interior lineman to the room, Jones, Anderson, and Cook have not seen an NFL field outside of three preseason games. Jones and Anderson, obviously, are rookies, and Cook was not elevated for any action by the Buccaneers last season.
Meanwhile, the projected starters total 325 combined games of NFL experience, providing a sharp contrast to those who are set to back them up.
"With Spencer being a late-round pick, just being a late-round pick you don't really know," Cole said. "Fought his way up the depth chart and played really well in the preseason games. Dylan, the same way, came in here late in free agency and it's the same thing, steady incline, and had a really good preseason. Really proud of those guys."
Whether the influx of youth came by chance or by design from Omar Khan and the rest of the Steelers' front office is one thing, but it is noteworthy that two players who were thought of as fringe 53-man candidates in Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green were traded away this week, which paved the pathways for Anderson and Cook. Dealing Dotson to the Rams opened the door for Anderson, who is keen at all five positions across the line and especially at guard. The trade of Green to the Texans gave Cook a shot at the 53-man roster, with many other decisions coming at other positions and namely at defensive line and within the secondary.
Moore worked as a swing tackle during training camp at Saint Vincent College. Jones, Okorafor, and he are the lone primary tackles on the roster, while Anderson and Cook have the abilities to move outside if needed. Cole is the only "true" center on the roster, though Herbig and Anderson can play at that spot in a pinch.
"Not only quality play, but versatility," Mike Tomlin said. "I think versatility is a component of decision making, and guys like Dylan and Spencer showed position flexibility. ... (Cook) got continually better. He kind of got on a moving train in terms of when we acquired him, and I like to see guys acclimate themselves to an ongoing developmental group. And he did that nicely. And particularly down the stretch, he really showed position flexibility."
The youth movement behind the starting line allows for a quicker maturation process from the starters.
Though he is in his third season and is just 24 years old, Moore had a fire lit underneath his seat once the Steelers drafted Jones with the 14th overall pick in April. But, instead of looking at Jones as an adversary, he ushered the rookie in with a healthy competition in camp that was rooted in Moore elevating his own game.
"I think we've taken tremendous strides," Moore said. "I think it's pushed the older guys and the development into a leadership role. It's been a big opportunity, especially for me, helping some of these guys out, remembering being in that position just a few years ago. I think it's pushed the older guys and encouragement for guys like that. Working hard, seeing us doing extra reps every single day after practice, just instilling that work ethic and taking that and carrying it throughout the season."
