The Steelers may have gotten out from under Broderick Jones at exactly the right time.
What looked like a jarring move over the summer is starting to read a lot differently now. Pittsburgh dealt the former first-round tackle to the Dallas Cowboys after Jones lost ground in training camp, failed to secure a spot, and then came up short trying to fight his way onto the roster anyway. For the Steelers, it amounted to moving on from what the team appears to view as the first major bust of the Omar Khan era.
The return wasn’t nothing, either. Pittsburgh picked up a third-round pick and a sixth-rounder in 2027 while sending Jones and a 2027 fourth-round selection to Dallas.
For a player the Steelers likely would have cut if no trade partner emerged, that’s a solid haul. His nagging neck injury and long-running issues with carrying too much weight were part of what made him expendable.
Dallas hoped a change of scenery might unlock something. So far, it hasn’t.
Jones hasn’t started a game this season, and he’s mostly been stuck waiting for a chance. At times, he’s been used as the extra offensive lineman, where he’s had a bit of success, but that’s a long way from what the Cowboys expected when they took him in. The idea was simple enough: maybe a new team, a fresh setup, and some untapped potential could finally come together.
Instead, the same limitations have followed him. He still doesn’t look like a dependable offensive tackle, and the athletic traits that once made him such an appealing project haven’t solved the bigger problems. When Dylan Cook beat him out as Pittsburgh’s swing tackle, the warning signs were already flashing.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for how Jones was handled in Pittsburgh, but the player doesn’t escape responsibility either. In hindsight, he just wasn’t good enough to justify being a first-round pick.
Seven weeks into the NFL season, Jones is still looking for a real role, and unless Dallas suffers an injury up front, it’s hard to see where one would open up for him. The Cowboys have a few former Steelers they added by trade who have produced at different levels. Jones isn’t among the success stories.
Right now, the Steelers look pretty comfortable with the decision to move on. And for Jones, the picture is getting tougher by the week.
In Other News...
Steelers Receiver Trouble Is Putting Real Pressure On Omar Khan
The NFL trade deadline is creeping closer, and the Steelers are once again weighing whether they need outside help at wide receiver. For Omar Khan, it is a familiar kind of pressure point: Pittsburgh has already spent time trying to reinforce the room, and the search for steady production has only gotten more complicated as injuries have thinned the depth chart.
With the deadline approaching, the urgency has sharpened around a position group that has not given the Steelers the consistency they want. Khan has been aggressive enough to explore upgrades, but the window to land one is closing fast, and the next move could say a lot about how he plans to handle a roster hole that has become hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers QB Search Just Got More Complicated With Dante Moore
Dante Moore had started to look like one of the more intriguing quarterback names to follow for Pittsburghs long-range planning, especially after a clean opening stretch at Oregon. In four games, he threw nine touchdowns without an interception, giving the Steelers another prospect to track as they think ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft and continue sorting through the future of the position.
Now the evaluation gets trickier. Moore will miss the rest of Oregons season because of a concussion, and any absence at this stage complicates how teams view a young quarterback who had been building momentum early. For Pittsburgh, it adds another layer of uncertainty to a process that already hinges on projection, health and whether Moore ultimately decides to enter the draft at all. [Read more 🡒]
Deshaun Watson Just Made Steelers-Browns A Lot More Complicated
Deshaun Watsons early-season rebound has changed the tone around Cleveland in a hurry, and that matters plenty for the Steelers, who know how quickly the AFC North can shift when the Browns have stability at quarterback. Through seven games, Watson has helped push Cleveland to a 5-2 start while throwing for 1,482 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions, a line that looks a lot different from the uncertainty that surrounded him entering the season.
Ian Rapoport recently suggested Watson has done enough to put himself in the mix to stay under center beyond 2026 if he stays healthy, which is a meaningful step for a Browns team still sorting out its future. Still, the discussion has not reached the point of locking him in as the long-term answer, and that gray area is where this gets interesting for Pittsburgh, because a division rival with a resurgent quarterback can complicate everything from the standings to the offseason conversation. [Read more 🡒]