Broderick Jones May Have Just Lost His Job With Steelers

By selecting Arizona State's Max Iheanachor in the first round of the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers may have signaled that they're ready to move on from Broderick Jones.

The Iheanachor pick came as at least a mild surprise considering the Steelers didn't host him on a top-30 visit. With all of the other top offensive linemen having flown off the board by the time they were on the clock at No. 21, however, they went with who they perceived as the next best option.

Even with several of the top wide receivers still available in Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr., Texas A&M's KC Concepcion and Washington's Denzel Boston, Pittsburgh's decision to take Iheanachor is telling both in regards to how much it prioritized upgrading the trenches and how muchc confidence it has in Jones moving forward.

With head coach Mike McCarthy strongly insinuating that Iheanachor will stick at tackle instead of moving inside to guard, it's hard to imagine Jones holding down any sort of role in 2026 regardless of how he progresses in his recovery from a neck injury.

Oct 6, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones (77) pass blocks during the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Jones is Out of the Picture

There was never going to be a scenario in which Jones was going to enter next season as the unquestioned starter at left tackle after suffering his injury.

In a best-case scenario for him, Pittsburgh would've passed up on taking a tackle on Day 1 and kicked the can down the road a bit, opening up the possibility of a competition between himself, Dylan Cook and a Day 2 or 3 rookie.

As soon as ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news that Jones had suffered a setback, however, the position vaulted to the top of the Steelers' needs, even if general manager Omar Khan tried to refute that report by saying there was no new information regarding the 2023 first-rounder.

As stated earlier, Iheanachor is a work in progress and likely won't be a finished product in 2026. At this point, though, it's hard to argue for Jones being a more suitable short-term solution than Cook if the former isn't ready right off the bat.

Though the Steelers have always been likely to turn down Jones' fifth-year option, there was at least a perceived chance for him to see the field in 2026 based on how quickly he recovered.

Given how the last few days have transpired, though, it feels safe to say that Jones has lost his job for good.

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