The first day of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ OTA practice is to get a lay of the land and check some boxes. Two important ones can be crossed off today. Troy Fautanu is healthy and practicing following season-ending knee surgery last year. And Broderick Jones has returned to left tackle.
Local Pittsburgh station [93.7 The Fan tweeted video](https://twitter.com/937theFan/status/1927426710984671493) of Fautanu and Jones getting reps today during individual periods.
Fautanu dislocated his kneecap in a practice last September, days after making his first NFL start in Week Two against the Dallas Cowboys. A similar injury to what former first-rounder David DeCastro suffered his rookie year, Fautanu was shelved on injured reserve for the rest of the season. Unlike WR Roman Wilson and DL Logan Lee, Fautanu never had his window-to-return opened and didn’t practice at the end of the season. It makes today’s note of him working out even more notable, though it was expected given the three-month timetable to recover from his injury.
Pittsburgh has been high on Fautanu ever since drafting him. So far, there’s been little chance to watch him work. He missed part of training camp and the team’s final two preseason games with an MCL sprain suffered in his exhibition debut against the Houston Texans. And he played just the one game against the Broncos, an up-and-down performance.
Healthy, he’s entrenched as the Steelers starting right tackle.
After spending most of his first two years on the right side, Jones is flipping back to left tackle. It’s the spot he played at Georgia when Pittsburgh traded up for him in 2023 and the position the [organization pledged to eventually move him to.](https://steelersdepot.com/2024/02/eventually-he-will-be-a-left-tackle-steelers-gm-discusses-broderick-jones-future/) Jones spent his rookie and sophomore seasons primarily at right tackle while Dan Moore Jr., who wasn’t comfortable on the right side, played on the left. Moore signed a massive free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans, opening a clear path for Jones.
While Jones has logged more snaps at right tackle than left tackle during his college and NFL careers combined, he still could feel more natural and comfortable back on the blindside. Arguably the player feeling the most amount of pressure on the Steelers’ roster, Jones must rebound after a difficult 2024 season. That starts with being more focused and assignment sound followed by improving his technique, especially on his punch in pass protection, and avoiding dropping his eyes on contact.
The Steelers’ young offensive line is under the microscope. It’s a unit that has to come into its own and become a Top-Ten unit. Otherwise, Pittsburgh will have to reinvest in the position while still trying to address other needs like quarterback, which will likely sit atop the team’s list in 2026.