Pittsburgh Steelers Exit Meeting: T Dan Moore Jr.
Experience: 4 Years
When the Steelers drafted Dan Moore Jr. in the fourth round in 2021, I doubt they expected to get over 4,300 snaps out of him during his rookie contract. You simply don’t set your sights that high in that portion of the draft. One can argue, though, that they got a lot more quantity out of him than quality.
After four seasons, Dan Moore is a pending unrestricted free agent, and the Steelers have planned for his departure. Of the past two years, they’ve used first-round picks on offensive tackles who should start next season. In 2023, they traded up in the first round to draft Broderick Jones. A year ago, it was Troy Fautanu they added.
Under ideal circumstances, the young duo would have sent Moore to the bench this season. For a variety of reasons, largely due to injury, the Steelers never locked into that formulation. Moore kept his job all season, as has been the case throughout his career.
The past two offseasons, Moore has earned praise for his professionalism amid imminent threats to his position. The Steelers made it very clear that they drafted Jones to be their left tackle of the future. In large part thanks to Moore, they are still waiting on that future.
After the Steelers drafted Fautanu, it seemed a foregone conclusion Moore would finish his Steelers career on the bench. Even if the rookie wasn’t ready to start at the beginning of the season, surely somewhere along the line he would. He did, starting in Week 2, but then dislocated his kneecap, guaranteeing even more of Moore.
While Dan Moore arguably had his best season, that still isn’t saying much. He finished with a high number of sacks allowed, a figure skewed toward the back half of the schedule. Whether he just had a bad run or that was a reflection of the quality of competition, he finished his likely final Steelers season on a low note.
Even still, young and experienced left tackles don’t grow on trees. Moore should set up his family for a couple generations in March with a strong free agency deal. If he does, the Steelers will be happy to see it, if only for the chance of a compensatory pick. Of course, they will likely have to be buyers this offseason themselves, so that may negate any such gain.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at home, the inevitable result of another early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, with no clear end in sight. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we will go down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
