When the Steelers drafted Broderick Jones, they had higher hopes for him than what he’s provided so far. The hopeful franchise left tackle has bounced around the offensive line through his first two years, and now the Steelers want him to finally find a home on the left side. That didn’t get off to a good start in Week 1 against the Jets.
Jones is still young, and the Steelers have him under contract for this season, plus two more if they desire. However, at some point, having him on the field could be a detriment to Aaron Rodgers’ health, as he is 41 years old. Former NFL GM Doug Whaley thinks the time is now for the Steelers to start pursuing other options.
“I’d be exploring every single option,” Whaley said on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday. “Because you built this roster, all your moves were like, let’s make a push now. Our most talented people are aged, and are going to be aging out. So why are we going to let something [Jones] that we can try and correct and be fixable if we admit it, derail what all this investment is for?”
Pittsburgh isn’t sacrificing its future, but Whaley is not wrong that it’s looking to make a push now. It’s certainly not a young team, and nearly all of its new additions this offseason are on the older side of 30. They started this journey with a win on Sunday, but the result also exposed plenty of its problems.
Unfortunately, Broderick Jones is arguably their biggest problem offensively right now. He allowed three sacks and legitimately looked bad on Sunday. Jones didn’t have the lateral quickness to compete with Will McDonald IV. He didn’t use his hands at the right times or put them in the right spot. He also showed a lack of strength as he was bullrushed back into the pocket a couple of times.
Obviously, that won’t work if it continues over a full season. And Whaley thinks Mike Tomlin might have to make a move soon before it affects the locker room.
“In that locker room, those players know already,” Whaley said. “Who should be playing, who shouldn’t, and who can help them attain that goal. And if they’re starting to look at this dude [Jones] like, yo, this ain’t it, and they keep him in there, that’s a season-ender. Because you lose the locker room.”
When you use a high draft pick on a player, they will get more opportunities to prove themselves than most, especially when you trade up in the first round, like the Steelers did for Broderick Jones. The Steelers will ride with him until the wheels fall off, and maybe even past that point. It’s not like there’s a ton of depth on the roster. And already a week into the season, the open market won’t be fruitful either.
Whaley mentions Tomlin potentially losing the locker room. Even if Jones continues to struggle, that’s probably not going to happen. Tomlin’s about as stable a head coach as you can ask for. And with as many veterans as there are in that building, that shouldn’t be a problem anyway.
That doesn’t discount the need for Broderick Jones to play better, though. If he doesn’t start to turn it around, the Steelers may have no choice but to look for alternatives.
