If you haven’t already figured it out by now, Landry Jones is now the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback.
While head coach Mike Tomlin tried to sidestep the subject last week that Jones had passed Mike Vick on the depth chart because one player was healthier than the other, the Friday injury report and Sunday pregame inactive list told us all we need to know about the situation.
After Vick practiced fully three straight days on the hamstring that he injured several weeks ago, he was listed as probable on the Friday injury report. On Sunday, Vick found himself on the inactive list while Jones dressed as the No. 2 behind starter Ben Roethlisberger.
Tomlin made a wise choice as Jones was forced into Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders with 7:51 left in the fourth quarter after Roethlisberger went down injured with a sprained left foot.
Jones once again responded coming off the bench as he completed 4 of his 6 pass attempts for 79 yards. More importantly, he led the Steelers offense on a game-winning drive that started at the Pittsburgh 20-yard-line with 1:15 left in regulation.
Next week in the Steelers home game against the Cleveland Browns, Jones will make his second career start and the hopes are that it goes better than his first one. Even if it doesn’t, the former fourth-round draft pick should remain the Steelers backup for the remainder of the season as he’ll still be the team’s best option at the critical position.
Kudos to the Steelers organization for sticking with Jones throughout this entire process as most of us wanted him gone prior to last season.
As for Vick, he’ll be the No. 2 against the Browns with Roethlisberger sidelined. When the Steelers injured starter is able to return to action, Vick will go back to being one of the team’s seven inactive players.
