Cowboys' Broderick Jones Blames Steelers Coaching Staff For Failure In Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers made a shocking trade while trimming the roster down to 53 men. They dealt former first-round tackle Broderick Jones to the Dallas Cowboys along with a 2027 fourth-round pick in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and Pittsburgh's own sixth-round pick back. For a player that was going to be the last-string lineman while also having an expiring contract, that is not a bad haul at all. General Manager Omar Khan knew that he would not receive a compensatory pick back in free agency, so he cut his losses. 

Jones was actually developing well as a left tackle in 2025, but a neck injury ended his season prematurely. It was impressive to see him on the field to begin training camp, but it became very clear very quickly that this wasn't the same man that had taken strides the year before. He was severely outmatched on both sides of the offensive line while going against third- and fourth-string guys.

In his first press conference with the Cowboys, Jones explained the root cause of his problems in Pittsburgh, as transcribed by Jon Machota.

"For me, I would just say bouncing around (positions), just not being able to get my feet set," Jones said. "That was a challenge for me. Coming in, hopefully I can stick to one side. Compete for that (job), get comfortable, get familiar with it, get familiar with who I’ll be playing next to and go from there."

This was nothing new to the Steelers. Former head coach Mike Tomlin had a tendency to take young players and either make them play out of position, or try and make them versatile. Sometimes it worked well, but sometimes it didn't. For Jones, making him flip sides constantly was seemingly much more detrimental to his development than helpful.

Jones was the primary backup at both left and right tackle in his rookie year. He had one start at blindside blocker in place of the injured Dan Moore Jr. before playing the back half of the year at the other spot after Chukwuma Okorafor was put in the doghouse. While this was not his last time playing right tackle, the constant swapping in practice continued.

In 2024, Jones was supposed to compete with Moore for left tackle while then-rookie Troy Fautanu took over the front side. However, Fautanu suffered an injury in training camp, meaning that the 2023 first-round pick was taking snaps at first-team right tackle while sometimes working the blind side with the second-team offense. Fautanu later suffered a season-ending injury, meaning the project pick had to go back.

That year was an absolute disaster, as both Moore and Jones allowed double-digit sacks. After Moore left in free agency, the young lineman could finally get all the reps at his natural position with no questions asked. As mentioned before, he played decently before his injury. He wasn't great, but legitimate strides were being made, and it looked like he could finally develop into that star that the Steelers thought he would be.

Other Steelers Players Were Pigeon-Holed Into The Position

Kevin Dotson, was also forced into a spot where he wasn't good for unknown reasons. He was a natural right guard, but was forced to play the left side for whole seasons, where his development stagnated. He was shipped off to the Los Angeles Rams before his fourth NFL season, and he immediately became a key part of their offensive line, as he earned himself a big payday.

It was perplexing why the Steelers designed their team to make it so Keeanu Benton had to play nose tackle as well. Like Jones and Dotson, he stagnated while playing out of position. The new coaching staff did give him a massive pay raise, but that came with the caveat of him no longer playing that role full time. He will be expected to bounce around on the defensive line, playing as a three-tech much more often, where he is meant to be.

What do you think about Jones seemingly blaming the Steelers for constantly moving him around for him not developing well? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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