With Dan Moore Jr. out of the picture after signing a four-year deal worth $82 million with the Tennessee Titans this offseason, Broderick Jones is set to slide back over to left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jones, who played the position throughout his collegiate career at Georgia, noted that he's still in the process of fully reacclimatizing to the role after primarily lining up at right tackle over his two campaigns with Pittsburgh up to this point.
“I think it went as good as it could go,” Jones said, via Steelers Now's Chris Ward. “You know, with everything going on — with me moving back to [LT] from [RT]. I still got a couple more weeks to hone in on my skills and continue to develop on the left side — and come in ready for [training camp].
“If I’m being honest, I think I probably do need a couple more weeks. Not saying I’d be bad, but just for me. Just to feel like I’m in the mindset to play an actual game — versus somebody else other than going against Alex Highsmith or Nick [Herbig].”
The Steelers selected Jones with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he allowed 30 pressures alongside five sacks, per Pro Football Focus, after taking over as the starter at right tackle in Week 9 that year once Chukwuma Okorafor was benched.
Last season, Jones gave up 45 pressures and 11 sacks at right tackle while starting at the position for a majority of the year once 2024 first-rounder Troy Fautanu suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice ahead of Week 3.
Jones admitted that his switch back to left tackle has required a mental adjustment in terms of how plays are called.
“It’s just flipping the plays in my head. Because some of our plays, they’re flip-flopped backwards,” Jones said, via PennLive's Nick Farabaugh. “So you hear them and they might be going one way, but it may be called the other way. So just staying locked in with the plays and just making sure you know them. And you know the plays, you can play at 110%.”
The 24-year-old dropped weight this offseason as he returns to his natural position and looks to leave a strong impression on Pittsburgh before the organization has to make a decision on his fifth-year option next spring.
