The Steelers went into Sunday’s game against the Broncos with a plan to rotate 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones and 2024 first-round pick Troy Fautanu at right tackle, but they abandoned that approach in the first half.
Fautanu started and Jones took over on the first draft of the second quarter. Jones was flagged for a false start and two holding penalties in 14 snaps and the Steelers reversed course after the second holding call wiped out a 51-yard pass to George Pickens.
On Tuesday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he planned the platoon because he was concerned about Fautanu’s conditioning coming off a knee injury but “held my breath and played Troy” the rest of the way because of the penalties. He also said he’s not closing the door on Jones for good.
“I’m going to give Broderick an opportunity to rebound,” Tomlin said, via the team’s website. “He’s a talented young player. I am sure he suffered some disappointment in terms of Troy starting. It’s a natural thing. But he has to move past it and I have to give him an opportunity to move past it as a leader. We’ll get into this week. We’ll let participation be our guide and the quality of participation for both guys be our guide in terms of how we divvy up this week. It’s a new week.”
Jones is listed on the depth chart as the backup to both Fautanu and left tackle Dan Moore, so his next shot to play, whenever that might be, could come at a different position.
