{"id":37097,"date":"2025-03-30T01:23:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T01:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=37097"},"modified":"2025-03-30T01:23:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T01:23:12","slug":"breaking-former-steelers-fan-favorite-finally-back-in-starting-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=37097","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Former Steelers Fan Favorite Finally Back in Starting Lineup.."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The former Pittsburgh Steelers lineman is back in the starting lineup, this time with a new team.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_4770,h_2683,x_0,y_474\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/all_steelers\/01jqhmfp8xb84nfmpm79.jpg\" alt=\"Dec 8, 2019; Glendale, AZ, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner (72) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images\" \/><\/p>\n<p>PITTSBURGH &#8212; Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner is finally back in football and now back in the starting lineup. After being away, recovering from a knee injury and looking for his next opportunity, he&#8217;s cracked the starting left tackle job in the UFL, and earned his first start with the Houston Roughnecks.<\/p>\n<p>Banner&#8217;s last NFL game was in 2021 when he started at left tackle for the Steelers. He unfortunately tore his ACL in Week 1 against the New York Giants and was ruled out the remainder of the season. The team moved in a different direction the next year, leading to Banner becoming a free agent.<\/p>\n<p>He was unable to sign with a team since, looking for an NFL opportunity but not getting one. This spring, he announced that he signed with the Roughnecks as part of the UFL. The now 31-year-old then earned the starting left tackle job.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With time and age, you\u2019re making fine wine,&#8221; Banner said in his announcement. &#8220;Every week, that phone doesn\u2019t ring. That heartbreak, how do we push through? That\u2019s probably my biggest area of growth. I\u2019ve been ready.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Banner will make his first UFL start when the Roughnecks take the field against the St. Louis Battlehawks.<\/p>\n<p>Banner was a fourth-round pick for the Indianapolis Colts in the 2017 NFL Draft. The USC star has spent time with the Colts, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Steelers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former Pittsburgh Steelers lineman is back in the starting lineup, this time with a new team. PITTSBURGH &#8212; Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner is&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Former Steelers Fan Favorite Finally Back in Starting Lineup.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=37097\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Former Steelers Fan Favorite Finally Back in Starting Lineup.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The former Pittsburgh Steelers lineman is back in the starting lineup, this time with a new team. 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