Player: T Broderick Jones
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Having temporarily lost his starting job, Broderick Jones is back in the mix at least for a long while. The Steelers demoted him in favor of rookie Troy Fautanu, but the latter is likely to miss the rest of the year. Jones started on Sunday and rebounded from a rough outing in rotation the previous week, playing penalty-free.
Broderick Jones didn’t seem to take his demotion very well. After committing three penalties within six plays, he admitted after the game, in so many words, he wasn’t all in. Part of his frustration stemmed from the fact that he had to rotate in while not starting. While that is not conducive to chemistry, the Steelers had their reasons for taking that approach.
Now they no longer have the option, as the man he rotated in with is injured. The Steelers demoted Jones in favor of rookie Troy Fautanu, but now he is due for knee surgery. He is expected to miss at least the regular season, with the potential to return in the playoffs.
As a consequence of Fautanu’s injury, Broderick Jones is obviously back in the starting lineup. While he still had his issues on Sunday, he did look the best he has all offseason. Perhaps it helped that he was able to shed a bulky elbow brace in favor of a sleeker arm sleeve.
Jones reportedly dealt with both elbow and wrist injuries this offseason, which is obviously not fun for an offensive lineman. When you have 300-pound defensive linemen crashing into you every down, that is going to be an issue.
To his credit, Jones has never complained about his injuries or used them as an excuse. I personally believe he has conveyed the right attitude throughout the process, and is holding himself accountable. Nobody was more upset about his play than he was.
Broderick Jones still has a long way to go before he lives up to his potential, or draft pedigree. Playing while injured this year isn’t going to help him reach those heights, but he has no control over that. Now that he is back on the field, all he can do is keep playing. And the Steelers need him to.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
