Jones drops on depth chart
The clock has been turned back on Broderick Jones’ NFL career.
Three games into his second season, Jones is in the same spot he occupied when he broke training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a rookie: on the bench.
Unlike last year when Jones ceded playing time to two veteran starters at the outset of the season, he has been usurped by a less-experienced offensive lineman. In a change to the depth chart coach Mike Tomlin released Tuesday, Jones is listed as the second-team right tackle behind rookie Troy Fautanu.
The switch comes on the heels of Fautanu making his first NFL start Sunday against the Denver Broncos and Jones playing just 11 snaps after three penalties in a six-play span ended Tomlin’s planned rotation at right tackle.
It wasn’t the career trajectory the Steelers had planned for Jones when they moved up four spots in the 2023 draft to select the raw tackle from Georgia with the No. 14 overall pick. That’s particularly true considering Jones started the final 10 games of his rookie season at right tackle and remained there for the season opener at Atlanta.
Tomlin indicated the benching won’t be permanent, although he remains committed to playing Dan Moore at left tackle and was “pleased” with how Fautanu fared on the right side against Denver.
“I’m going to give Broderick an opportunity to rebound,” Tomlin said at his weekly news conference. “He’s a talented young player. I’m sure he suffered some disappointment in terms of Troy starting. It’s a natural thing. But he’s got to move past it, and I’ve got to give him an opportunity to move past it.”
Impressed by the way Fautanu has progressed as a rookie in spite of a knee injury that sidelined the 2024 first-round pick for the final two preseason games, Tomlin wanted to rotate his right tackles against the Broncos.
Fautanu played the first two series before yielding to Jones for the third. Jones proceeded to be called for a false start on a third-and-6 play. The Steelers converted the first down only for Jones to get flagged for holding twice in a three-play sequence. When the second holding call negated a 51-yard completion to George Pickens, Tomlin had seen enough and sent Fautanu back into the game.
Jones never returned, and Fautanu logged 55 snaps in his debut.
“I had intentions of utilizing both guys,” Tomlin said. “I acknowledge Troy was healthy and was capable. I rolled them because I had concerns about his level of conditioning. He’s a young guy. He’s new to me, new to the NFL. I didn’t know how fatigue would affect his play in terms of detail.
“I had every intention of using Broderick, but when Broderick started getting highly penalized in play, I backed off it, held my breath and I played Troy.”
Fautanu wasn’t penalized in the game, which was no small feat considering the Steelers were flagged nine times.
“Troy has been lighting it up,” Tomlin said. “I don’t talk a lot during the preseason, particularly about rookies because it doesn’t help me, and it doesn’t help them but based on actions I’m sure you have an understanding of what I was looking at in team development.”
Jones’ struggles were reminiscent of the second preseason game when he was beaten for two sacks by Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau. After that game, Jones said he wasn’t mentally prepared for the matchup, and he said as much again when he came off the bench Sunday.
“I just feel like I wasn’t playing up to the speed of the game,” Jones said. “I wasn’t playing with that 110% attitude. I feel like that’s all it was for me. I have to continue to push myself to be better and continue to work.”
Until Sunday, Tomlin hadn’t voiced displeasure with Jones’ work ethic or performance. Then, he broke one of Tomlin’s tenants for September football, which is clean play by the offensive line.
Making matters worse for Jones is Tomlin is reluctant to make a change at left tackle, which is Jones’ natural position. Moore wasn’t immune to drawing a flag against the Broncos. A holding call in the fourth quarter against him on third down negated an 8-yard completion for a first down and led to a punt.
“Dan has been solid. He’s been Dan,” Tomlin said. “Dan is never moved by what is going on around him. There is a maturity to his approach, to business. Often it is reflected in the consistency in his play.”
Jones will continue to take practice reps on the left and right sides as he tries to work his way back into the lineup. If he does well enough in practice this week, perhaps the rotation at right tackle will continue this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Tomlin isn’t averse to alternating his tackles during the game.
“It doesn’t bother me when everyone is capable,” he said. “Everyone is capable.”
AP
