Steelers HC Mike Tomlin isn’t ready to return Broderick Jones to natural position
At one point, many fans believed the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most glaring need was at the tackle position. That is until the team released two-year starting center Mason Cole in February.
There was an aggressive effort by the Steelers to sign Buffalo Bills free agent Mitch Morse, but he left for Jacksonville and signed with the Jaguars. The path to a first-round tackle would’ve been clearer had a deal gotten done, but no movement since the Morse attempt signals a center being the team’s most pressing need.
If that’s how the cards fall in next month’s NFL draft, Dan Moore Jr. will have one more year as Pittsburgh’s starting left tackle. He’s heading into the final year of his contract.
For Broderick Jones, that means another year playing out of position at right tackle, a spot where he had ups and downs as a rookie. Jones took offseason reps at left tackle, but given the more experienced Moore performs better on the left side, it appears that’s where he’ll stay.
Jones came in for Moore, who sustained a Week 4 knee injury and earned his first start the following week versus the Baltimore Ravens. Upon Moore’s return following Pittsburgh’s Week 6 bye, the rookie went back to riding pine.
His next opportunity came at the expense of Chuks Okorafor who was benched for openly criticizing the coaches during the Week 8 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jones finished the season with 10 of 11 starts at right tackle (711 snaps).
There isn’t a sense an urgency from Mike Tomlin to move Jones back to his natural left tackle position.
“So much is ahead of us in terms of player acquisition,” Tomlin said via TribLive’s Joe Rutter. “Where any specific player ends up is subject to who else is on our roster.”
The Steelers appear committed to Jones at right tackle, and he has the entire offseason ahead of him to hone his craft. Even if they do draft a tackle, he’ll spend his rookie season on the sideline barring injury.
