Broderick will get chance to win job back

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – With the three penalties last week Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not giving up on tackle Broderick Jones. In fact, he will give him a chance to win his job back this week.

Tomlin said he was pleased with how rookie Troy Fautanu did in his first start. Adding the rotation plan was there because he wasn’t sure how Fautanu would handle his inaugural NFL game and the altitude in Denver.

It’s that Tomlin feels he needs to give Jones a do-over after three penalties in six snaps.

“I’m going to give Broderick an opportunity to rebound,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “He’s a talented young player. I’m sure he suffered some disappointment in terms of Troy starting. It’s a natural thing. He’s got to move past it and I have to give him an opportunity to move past it as a leader.”

It will be a challenge as you hear Tomlin describe what the 2024 first-round pick did in practice, even though Fautanu missed nearly a month of full workouts due to a knee injury suffered in the first preseason game.

“Troy has been lighting it up,” Tomlin said. “I don’t talk a lot during the preseason, particularly about rookies because it doesn’t help me and it doesn’t help them. Based on my actions in terms of putting him in the lineup, I’m sure you have an understanding of what I was looking at in team development.”

Tomlin said having a tackle rotation going forward doesn’t bother him as long as everyone is capable. If you are thinking about Jones moving over to the left side, the Steelers head coach said Dan Moore has been solid and consistent.

“We will see where the roads lead,” Tomlin said. “I would be disrespectful to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday if I had a hard-core plan in mind about how I was going to roll those guys.”

So. choose your favorite cliché, let’s go with they will see how the week plays out for both players. It’s a big challenge no matter what tackles are in there against experienced, All-Pro edge rushers in Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa this week.