The top priority for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense this season is keeping 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers upright. The offensive line — Broderick Jones in particular — failed at that task in Week 1. In his first start at left tackle since Week 5 of his rookie season, Jones allowed three sacks and four total pressures on Rodgers in his first real test of the 2025 season.
His performance has left Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo wondering about his future as the starter.
“If he continues to play like that it won’t be long,” Fittipaldo wrote in response to being asked about a potential benching in his weekly P-G Steelers chat.
“Not feeling confident about your October question,” he said to another fan who asked about Jones making it to October as the starter.
Jones was Omar Khan and Andy Weidl’s first draft pick in charge of the Steelers’ draft board. Not only did they take him in the first round, they traded up for him to be a pillar of their build-from-the-trenches strategy moving forward.
The strategy hasn’t been a total failure with additions like Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Troy Fautanu and some of the young D-linemen, but Jones’ lack of progress has muted some of the optimism.
If the Steelers decide to bench Jones, that opens up a can of worms. For one, you are effectively giving up on Jones’ development from that point forward. They would also need to figure out who they are starting at left tackle. Troy Fautanu played there in college, but Tomlin was resistant to the idea of flipping him sides when asked earlier this offseason.
Calvin Anderson and Andrus Peat have the most experience, but neither inspire that much confidence as a starting blindside protector. At some point, maybe one of them would be the better option over Jones allowing three sacks per game. The season is shot if Rodgers gets hurt. Right now, Jones is the biggest threat to that happening.
He was briefly benched last year in favor of Fautanu. Maybe they will consider doing it again.
