How much concern should the Steelers have about Broderick Jones?
Broderick Jones came off the bench in the Steelers’ second game for the first time since entering the starting lineup during his rookie season. He didn’t even make it through a full series, playing 11 snaps before head coach Mike Tomlin benched him. In a span of six plays, he false started and committed two holding penalties, one of which negated a 51-yard gain.
The Steelers apparently planned to rotate Jones in every third drive or so with Troy Fautanu. The latter, a rookie first-round pick making his first start and NFL debut, had to play the rest by himself. I don’t think he minded, of course, but now what is next for the man he replaced?
As the Steelers have reminded multiple times this offseason, they drafted Broderick Jones to play left tackle. My guess is the next time we see him on the field, it will be at left tackle. At least the next time we see him start a game, it will be at left tackle.
As much as nobody wants to hear this, I could also see the Steelers rotating Jones on both sides. They did that with Kelvin Beachum very briefly all the way back in 2013. Before long he just replaced Mike Adams as the starting left tackle, and he had to fill in at guard and even center due to injuries, taking away from some of that rotation. But they did do it for like a game and a quarter or so.
The Steelers have three tackles they like, but Broderick Jones is the one who has been playing the worst. There can be any number of reasons for that, including injury and simply human frustration. Whatever the reasons, his play hurt the Steelers on Sunday, and that can’t happen again, not that way.
Make no mistake, though, Jones is still very early in his career. It was at this time that the Miami Dolphins traded Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Steelers, 18 games into his career. Remember that? Minkah turned out pretty well, in my humble, amateur opinion.
Broderick Jones is a young guy, and I’m guessing he has never faced a demotion before. This is a new experience for him, and now he realizes that it’s a wake-up call. Perhaps he let his frustrations get the better of him and he put less than full effort into this game. I can definitely see that. But now he knows what that looks like when he isn’t giving everything every week, and he knows it can’t happen again.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson regain his job when he is healthy, or is Justin Fields stealing it? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers 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.
