The remainder of this summer figures to be an interesting one for Pittsburgh Steelers OT Dan Moore Jr. and that’s because he’s in a similar position that former OG Kevin Dotson was last year. In case you’ve forgotten already, Dotson wound up being traded by the Steelers to the Los Angeles Rams as part of additional late-round draft pick swaps.
Last summer, it was known that Dotson would be battling for a spot on the Steelers 53-man roster on the heels of the team signing two guards, Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig early in free agency. Dotson, in case you forgot, also entered the summer with a raise in pay thanks to him qualifying for a Proven Performance Escalator bump in his first three NFL seasons. That raise resulted in Dotson’s 2023 season salary being $2.743 million.
When Dotson predictably didn’t win the starting left guard last summer, and with Herbig remaining firmly in line to be the swing guard backup to Seumalo and right guard James Daniels, the Steelers decided to trade their former fourth-round draft pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette for whatever they could get for him. It also allowed the Steelers to clear a little bit of 2023 salary cap space in the process.
As for Moore’s situation this summer, it’s quite tenuous because the Steelers selected OT Troy Fautanu in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and just one year after selecting OT Broderick Jones in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Jones will obviously be a starter out of the chute this year and Fautanu could ultimately be the opposite side starter by Week One. Quite honestly, it would be a disappointment if Fautanu is not ready to start at the start of the 2024 regular season.
On top of another new tackle arriving via this year’s draft, Moore, just like Dotson last offseason, received a bump in his base salary at the start of the new league year in March and that was also related to him qualifying for the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator bump. In case you’re curious, that bump in pay for Moore earlier in the offseason now means that he’s scheduled to earn $3.366 million in 2024. That’s a lot for him to make if he winds up being a backup by the start of the 2024 regular season.
So, could Moore find himself on another team after the preseason ends via a trade? Overall, that’s somewhat plausible, especially if the Steelers can get one of their other tackles under contract to show they can be a primary swing tackle backup this summer. The likely candidates to be that swing tackle that might make Moore expendable later this summer are Dylan Cook and Spencer Anderson, both of whom were on the Steelers’ 53-man roster last season.
On top of everything else when it comes to Moore and things to watch with him as we progress into the summer is the fact that he really seems to only be left tackle-capable. Steelers HC Mike Tomlin admitted as much last season and Moore essentially said the same thing this past week. If he ever had to play right tackle for the Steelers moving forward, a lot would likely need to happen in the way of injuries An awful lot.
For now, it’s all just speculation regarding Moore’s status past the end of the preseason. It is, however, nearly certain that Moore won’t be jettisoned in any way, shape, or form until preseason winds down. After all, the Steelers need to stay healthy at the tackle position all summer and it’s not like other teams are calling daily with obscene trade offers for Moore. All of that noted, we saw what ultimately happened to Dotson last offseason and Moore certainly seems to be on the same path this summer.
