One of the biggest concerns entering the 2025 NFL season for the Pittsburgh Steelers is the state of the offensive line. More accurately, the state of the offensive tackles. OT Broderick Jones is entering his third season with the Steelers, while OT Troy Fautanu missed almost his entire rookie season with knee injuries.
The middle of the offensive line looks solid with LG Isaac Seumalo, C Zach Frazier, and RG Mason McCormick. Seumalo provides the much-needed veteran presence on the line as Jones is the lineman with the next-most experience among the projected starters. But his first two years in Pittsburgh have been anything but smooth.
Despite playing left tackle almost exclusively at Georgia in college, Jones has played almost exclusively at right tackle. And he has struggled at points to play well. But in 2025, he’s going back to his natural left tackle position. So, how is that change going through voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamp?
“I feel like it’s still the same for me, because I come out with that mindset, just ready to work,” said Jones on Tuesday, per video from Pittsburgh’s DSEN YouTube channel. “But it does feel good to be back on the left side. You know, switching… But I gotta get back used to it. But I feel like these couple of days that I’ve had on the left side have been really solid.”
Jones may not have come out and said it explicitly, but moving back and forth from left to right tackle was not a fun experience for him. And former NFL DL Leger Douzable thinks the Steelers didn’t help him with his development by flipping him from side to side. But he seems to feel like moving back to left tackle is going well so far.
There is one Steelers teammate who knows Broderick Jones better than most. That would be TE Darnell Washington. They played together at Georgia and were even drafted by the Steelers in the 2023 NFL Draft. And Washington is seeing Jones get back to his Georgia days.
If Jones is feeling like the left tackle the Steelers drafted out of Georgia, that’s good news for the Steelers. He’s got one of the most important jobs in 2025: Block on Aaron Rodgers’ blindside. Rodgers will be turning 42 years old in December. Sure, reports are that Rodgers is moving quite well, despite his age.
But the NFL season is long. It’s 17 games of wear and tear. Will Rodgers be moving this well come Week 15 for the stretch run to the playoffs? Broderick Jones’ performance will be a big part of answering that question.
For right now, he feels good about the switch back to his natural left tackle spot.
