Steelers Still Haven’t Made Decision on Starting Left Tackle

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers still have not decided who will start at left tackle for the team on Sunday against the Rams. Broderick Jones spoke with the media on Wednesday morning and declared that the team has not informed anyone who will start against the Rams yet.

“We still don’t know yet at this point,” Jones said.

Dan Moore Jr. echoed a similar sentiment on Monday. Mike Tomlin said yesterday that it is a ‘big if’ for Moore to start, even if he is healthy, but he looked good on Monday. The team will seemingly look at practice throughout the week and make a decision based on that, despite Jones coming off a stellar performance against the Rangers.

“That’s a big if,” Tomlin said when asked if Moore would start. “We’ve got some work ahead of us. He’ll be given an opportunity to show his progress over the course of the week, and we’ll make that decision at the appropriate time. It doesn’t behoove us to make hypothetical statements in the early portions of the week. He looked pretty good yesterday. We’ll see where the week leads us.”

On Monday, Moore confirmed that he took the first-team reps. He is returning from an MCL sprain that he suffered in Houston. However, the Steelers and Tomlin have remained impressed by Jones throughout his first two games as he stacks performances. That could lend itself to having Jones take over the starting role, but Tomlin has given no indication that will be what happens yet.

Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Broderick Jones at training camp, Aug. 8, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

“It’s on a case-by-case basis,” Tomlin said. “It has to be. You want to be fair to everyone. If they’re quick learners and so forth, you don’t want to exclude them. If they’re a veteran player that doesn’t require a lot of physical reps, you don’t want to exclude them, et cetera. So over the years, I’ve learned to handle it on a case-by-case basis.”

If he is not the starter, Jones would not react adversely to it. He is learning on the job and in the classroom, and Jones believes both methods are effective for him. Jones would learn from Moore, put his head down, and continue to grind towards reaching that starting job.

“There’s no reaction. It’s the same as always – continue to get better. That’s always my mindset,” Jones said.

Tomlin said that Jones “hasn’t been deficient” in his learning. So what does that mean about Jones’ progress, who will play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, and when the highly touted rookie will take over that job? Your guess is as good as mine.