Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the poor performances Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu and the rest of the Steelers’ offensive line have had to start the 2025 season. In his third year, and finally settled in at left tackle, many hoped Jones would take a jump forward. If anything, it seems to be the opposite.
During his weekly chat with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo wondered if Pittsburgh might have to make a move to replace Jones in the near future.
“He’s giving up too many pressures, and the pocket isn’t good because he’s getting pushed backward far too often,” Fittipaldo wrote. “Maybe Jones improves week by week. I know they’re giving him some runway, but I’m not sure how long they can wait for him to get up to speed.”
Jones got off to a terrible start, allowing three sacks in Week 1. It’s extremely hard to not improve after that performance, but Jones’ progress has been minimal. He just isn’t showing good technique, and it’s not just in one area. He stands too upright, which Ben Roethlisberger noted this week, and his hand placement has been poor.
It’s only been three weeks, so there could still be some progress as the year goes on. However, at some point it becomes a safety concern for Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers have plenty of talented edge rushers they have to face in the near future. To keep their 41-year-old quarterback healthy, they might have no choice but to replace Jones.
Interestingly, Fittipaldo wonders if moving Troy Fautanu to left tackle could solve the problem.
“Fautanu to LT is a natural move I might explore because he played LT at Washington, but the Steelers seem to want to keep him at RT,” Fittipaldo wrote.
The Steelers received a lot of criticism for playing Jones mostly at right tackle first two seasons. His natural position is left tackle, but due to some unfortunate circumstances Pittsburgh had to move him to the right side. It’s not an excuse for his poor play, but it certainly didn’t help his development.
Making a similar move with Fautanu would be a risk. As Fittipaldo notes, he did play left tackle in college, but switching sides during the middle of the season will cause some growing pains. Even more so considering Fautanu has just four NFL games under his belt. And even in that scenario, Pittsburgh would then need a replacement at right tackle. It’s also worth noting that Mike Tomlin had some praise for Jones this week, so replacing him might not be on their minds just yet.
Still, the Steelers might be running out of options. If Jones doesn’t pick up the pace soon, replacing him could become much more likely. In doing so, moving Troy Fautanu to left tackle could be their best play, although still risky.
