PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says he gets questions about tackle Broderick Jones for at least the last month, although it’s been longer. First-year Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers said he noticed the negative perception of Jones from early in the season. It’s been a lingering question since the first preseason game, how will Jones be at left tackle?
The 2023 first-round pick struggled in the first couple of games. Sunday he was lined up against Myles Garrett, who had six sacks in his last three games against the Steelers. Yet Rodgers wasn’t sacked once. It’s not to say he didn’t have help from extra blockers or just the scheme, but he still had to execute.
“I would say I was solid,” Jones said of his own performance Monday. “It was enough to get us out of a stadium, for sure. I feel like I could have played a little bit better. Just me trying to uphold the standard for myself, I feel like I have to play at a better, a more consistent level, just for me.”
“I got a lot of confidence in him,” Rodgers said in a statement many wouldn’t think believable. “I really enjoy his energy. Sometimes trying to kick him in the ass a little bit in practice to get going, but I like his positivity.”
Jones admitted as much saying Rodgers plays with a fire and knows how to read the room. The veteran quarterback is working to get Jones into the same head space as him in games. Head coach Mike Tomlin said he sees improvement every week, not just from Jones but from the line.
Thursday against the Bengals it’s another elite pass rusher who will be lining up on the other side.
“He’s just a relentless player, he never stops,” Jones said of Bengals Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson. “He has a motor about him. He has a deep bag of tools. You got to be on your A-game when it comes to play him because you can’t sleep, he’ll catch you.”
Unlike Garrett, or the Steelers TJ Watt, who had success early in their careers, Hendrickson spent his first three seasons with the Saints with only three starts. Since coming to the Bengals, he’s been a Pro Bowler every season with 61 sacks, 56 tackles for loss and 120 quarterback hits in 69 starts. The 30-year-old has had more sacks (9.5) against the Steelers than any other team, with eight tackles for loss and a career-high 17 quarterback hits.
“This is the NFL, it never gets easier,” Jones said. “You got good players every week. You just got to prepare the right way. We are going to Cincinnati, their home turf. I know they are going to be fired up, a rivalry game, we just got to be on it.”
Jones has been on it much better recently, is consistency becoming part of his game?