All things considered, the Pittsburgh Steelers had to be pretty happy with their offensive line in 2025. They asked it to do a lot with a 42-year old quarterback behind it, and the Steelers still got consistent performances across the unit. Perhaps most encouraging was that both of the tackles, Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, took some strides.
The former was putting together an impressive stretch of play, but left early in the loss against Chicago and had to miss the rest of the season. Jones is now coming back from a neck injury, and he’ll also have to contend with Dylan Cook next year. Cook took over once Jones and his initial replacement, Andrus Peat, went down, and played very well. To PFF’s Dalton Wasserman, that may put Jones on the hot seat.
“The offensive line is an interesting one for me, too. This doesn’t seem to be getting talked about a lot, but the left side of this offensive line is interesting. Broderick Jones, if he’s not gonna be replaced this offseason, I think he’s gonna go into 2026 very much on the hot seat. Gotta figure out who’s playing left guard with Isaac Seumalo a free agent,” Wasserman said Thursday on his PFF NFL Show. “I think they’re set at three spots, with Fautanu, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick. But that left side of the offensive line, to me, is quietly a story in Pittsburgh. It’s a little unsettled right now.”
After making some real progress as the 2025 season went on, it feels harsh for Broderick Jones to have an uncertain future in Pittsburgh. But that he does. The Steelers will have to decide on his fifth-year option, a decision complicated by Cook’s emergence. By picking it up, the Steelers would give themselves another year of security at the position. Cook is a little risky with such a small sample size. But if the Steelers really believe Cook will be their man, there’s no reason to pick up Jones’ option.
The Steelers could decline to pick it up and allow the two to compete for a starting role. If Jones wins and performs well, they’ll have to fight other teams, but they could bring him back in free agency next offseason. If Cook wins, Jones would simply walk in free agency, and the Steelers could try to keep Cook long-term. Although he could be a big name on the market with another good year.
As for the guard position, that is more of a question. Seumalo leaving in free agency would hurt. The Steelers have good reason to want to keep him around. He provided some key veteran stability amongst what was otherwise a very young unit.
However, there are other avenues out there. If the Steelers lose Seumalo, they could bring in another veteran or try to draft a lineman in the first couple of rounds. They do have five picks in the first two days, after all. All things considered, while they’ll need to add in some way, the unit isn’t that much of a worry. As Wasserman says, the Steelers have three spots nailed down. And at left tackle, the Steelers hope either Broderick Jones or Dylan Cook can take command.
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