Who will the Steelers’ starting tackles be by Week 1?
This is one of the biggest outstanding questions for the Steelers, although I’m not sure we don’t know the answer. With rookie Troy Fautanu still working his way back from a knee injury, perhaps we should just assume Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones will open the season as the Steelers’ starting tackles.
In other words, I’m guessing the Steelers just pick up where they left off last year. And I’m not sure exactly when they might plan to pivot if at all, this season.
Sure, the Steelers obviously want to get Fautanu onto the field, but what if there is no urgency? If the line with Moore and Jones playing is doing fine, would the Steelers really start shuffling the deck? They had their reasons when they benched Chukwuma Okorafor last year for Jones.
And this year is even more complicated because a change would require musical chairs. If Fautanu enters the starting lineup, the Steelers will likely move Jones from right tackle to left tackle. Then you not only bench Moore, but you have to get Jones comfortable on the left side.
This is a question they will have to face at one point or another, but the first variable in the timeline is Fautanu’s health. If he is healthy enough to practice this week, that gives him a good chance of being eligible. If he can make himself a candidate to start, then the Steelers have to have the discussion.
On the other hand, if he is unable to get enough practice due to his knee, then the question answers itself. Moore and Jones will remain in the starting lineup, and Jones will remain at right tackle. You can worry about the Fautanu question at a later date—and thus the Jones question.
The Steelers could install Fautanu at right tackle over Jones and send the 2023 first-round pick to the bench. I don’t think they want to do that, although his “multiple” injuries don’t help. Taking that approach does provide the least amount of instability, though, with a one-for-one swap.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a first-round playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they exit early or miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The Steelers are in training camp and the preseason and the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
