Broderick Jones was starting to put things together midway through his third season in the NFL. Then, he unfortunately suffered a serious neck injury, leaving his future with the Steelers in doubt. A future which became even murkier when the Steelers took Max Iheanachor in the first round back in April.
But that hasn’t stopped Jones from trying to help Iheanachor as he gets his feet wet in the NFL.
“I sit next to Troy and him [Jones], kinda in between, and they’re kind of just always dropping knowledge and gems on me. So it’s been really good so far. He’s [Jones] been really amazing, trying to help me out,” Iheanachor said Wednesday via Steelers.com.
It’s a tough situation for Jones, no doubt. After a rocky start to his career, he had a nice stretch of play midway through the 2025 season. But after his injury, Jones lost the momentum he was starting to build, while also losing his spot in the Steelers’ future offensive line plans, and a potential payday once hitting free agency.
Broderick Jones will hope to be ready for training camp, but it’s not clear if he will be. He does seem to be progressing a little more during practice, and was doing some sled drills at OTAs last week. Of course, he’s yet to participate in any team activities. But working on the sled is a good sign he’s making progress in his return from injury.
Still, it feels destined that 2026 will be his last season in the black and gold. Which is tough, since the Steelers won’t feel a need to rush him into anything. With Troy Fautanu, Dylan Cook and Iheanachor available at tackle, Jones won’t see significant playing time unless he’s completely healthy. Coming back from such a serious injury, there’s no telling when that might be. Which obviously puts him in a tricky situation as he gets set for free agency next offseason.
With that in mind, it’s very respectable that he’s still going out of his way to help Iheanachor. Jones spoke a couple of weeks ago about his understanding as to why the Steelers took another offensive tackle, claiming he had no ill will towards the team for doing so. He also mentioned his desire to help Iheanachor with “anything he needs”.
It’s a hard situation for Broderick Jones to be in. There was once a time in which he could have become a future stalwart at tackle in Pittsburgh. Now that the clock seems to be ticking on his Steelers tenure, he’s looking to help Pittsburgh’s next hope for the future at his own position.
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