After four seasons in Pittsburgh that featured plenty of ups and downs, veteran offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. found himself in a very good position on the open market ahead of NFL free agency. It led to a significant payday for the former Steeler, and he now has great expectations placed on him as one of the highest-paid offensive tackles in the NFL.
For Moore, those expectations are something he’s embracing.
Speaking to Titans.com’s Jim Wyatt in his first public comments since leaving the Steelers to join Tennessee, Moore stated he’s aiming to not only prove himself right but the Titans “damn right” as well when it comes to the contract he signed and the attention he’s garnering.
“Obviously, I want to exceed expectations,” Moore said Thursday to Wyatt via the team’s website. “But it’s not only about proving the team right, it’s about proving myself right. I feel like my expectations will always be higher than anyone else’s are for me. I feel like by meeting my expectations, I’ll exceed the team’s expectations.
“So, not only do I want to prove them right, I want to prove them damn right, where (they’re thinking), ‘We got our guy. He didn’t just do what we needed him to do. He did that and more.’ That is the consensus I want in the organization.”
Leading into the offseason, the expectation was that Dan Moore would land a healthy contract on the open market. After all, he is just 26 years old and has started 66 games for the Steelers over four years, missing just one game in his career to date.
The durability is there, and the improvements occurred year after year. But the 2024 season was a tough one down the stretch for Moore, who fell apart in the second half.
From Week 10 on, Moore allowed 10 of his league-leading 12 sacks in the regular season and 27 of his 41 pressures. Four times in the second half of the season, Moore was charged with allowing two or more sacks in a game, according to Pro Football Focus, doing so against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 and the Cleveland Browns in Week 12 and then against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals in Weeks 17 and 18.
Dan Moore played 1,111 snaps in the regular season and had the worst season of his career in a contract year, allowing a career-worst 12 sacks. Based on how he performed in the first half of the season, there was a chance that Moore might have played his way into another contract with the Steelers, but that ship sailed as his play cratered in the second half under offensive line coach Pat Meyer.
But despite the struggles, the expectation was he would be one of the best tackles on the open market. Once Ronnie Stanley re-signed in Baltimore, Moore elevated to arguably the best on the open market. NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported that some believed Moore would get $20 million per year as a free agent, which was shocking.
Turns out, it was spot-on. The Titans handed him a four-year, $82 million deal with $50 million guaranteed, making him the sixth-highest-paid left tackle in the NFL, right with names like Denver’s Garrett Bolles, Philadelphia’s Jordan Mailata and Buffalo’s Dion Dawkins, according to OverTheCap.com.
With that type of price tag, expectations will be sky-high for Moore. Maybe he improves in Tennessee, especially under heralded offensive line coach Bill Callahan, whom he spoke highly of. If he does, it will be a bargain for the Titans and look bad for the Steelers.
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