Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have a serious problem on their new-look offensive line.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have high aspirations for their new-look offensive line this season. However, one of the unit’s key players didn’t have the season opener many were hoping to see.
According to Pro Football Focus, left tackle Broderick Jones allowed three sacks and four pressures against the New York Jets.
The Steelers selected Jones in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the hopes of him developing into a key piece on their offensive line for many years to come. That isn’t how things have played out, though.
Jones has struggled in the beginning portions of his NFL career while playing the majority of his snaps at right tackle over the past two years.
His natural position is on the left side, which is why a switch back to left tackle this season had many feeling very optimistic for Jones’ 2025 campaign. However, training camp was a mixed bag for him, and now so is the start to his regular season.
Head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t call out just Jones after Pittsburgh’s 34-32 win on Sunday, but he acknowledged the group was simply not good enough.
“We have to be able to turn our backs to the defense on play pass on first and second down,” Tomlin said. “I thought that’s where we were most leaky but there’s risk associated with that. I understand that, but that’s just a component of play that we desire to be functional at, and we weren’t good enough today.”
Jones has plenty of season ahead to change that narrative, but he better do it fast if he hopes to retain his starting job at left tackle.
The Steelers also have veterans Calvin Anderson and Andrus Peat as potential options to replace Jones if he were to continue struggling.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Key Steelers Offensive Lineman Struggles vs. Jets
