Former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season. The Steelers have played 19 games since then. And yet you look at the starting offense, and already there are only four players remaining—WR Diontae Johnson, TE Pat Freiermuth, and Roethlisberger’s two offensive tackles, LT Dan Moore Jr. and RT Chukwuma Okorafor.
That’s a lot of turnover in a short amount of time, and frankly it’s no surprise that he has a particular affinity for his former teammates. He’s been a big advocate for Moore in particular, including after the Steelers drafted Broderick Jones in the first round to take his job.
Last month, he revealed that he was the one who called Moore to let him know about the move the Steelers made in the first round. Now he’s calling his former blindside protector before games as he continues to start, letting him know he has his back.
“I talked to him last night and I said, ‘Dude, I’m so happy for you, I’m proud of the way you’re playing, keep it up’”, he said on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, posted last night, during a live watch of Monday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. “Dan Moore, keep it up, dude. You are absolutely killing it and I’m very proud of you”.
This was a remark that was made toward the middle of the game, but he also offered praise for Moore in his postgame thoughts as well, particularly noting how DE Myles Garrett had a limited impact on the game. The All-Pro was credited with one tackle and now has three on the season.
Of course, not everybody agrees with Roethlisberger’s assessment. Pro Football Focus, for example, has graded him as one of the very worst tackles in the league in each of the first two weeks of the season thus far. As with any outlet, PFF’s analysis should be taken with a grain of salt (as should ours and everybody else’s), but it’s just an example of the criticism that is out there.
In fact, at the moment, Moore is graded last in pass blocking, run blocking, and overall grade among all qualifying tackles by PFF. It has charged him with a league-high 15 pressures in pass protection, including one sack and four hits, the latter also being the most. His pass-blocking efficiency rate of 90.4 is the worst in the NFL.
Still, one has to consider the fact that he has played against some of the best in the game over the past two weeks, and at least statistically, those defenders have had minimal impact. And while he may not be the least of the Steelers’ worries offensively, he’s certainly not the biggest, either.
At the same time, there is the reality of Jones lurking in the wings. If Moore continues to slip, and especially if the team is struggling as a whole and potentially losing games, the Steelers could pull the chord and put the rookie into the lineup.
