Dan Moore Jr. returned to practice on Monday with the first team, but it’s unclear whether he’ll actually start Sunday or if it’ll be rookie Broderick Jones.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, Jones hasn’t been told who will start at left tackle versus the Los Angeles Rams.
Broderick Jones said he hasn’t been told who will start at left tackle on Sunday.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) October 18, 2023
Tomlin didn’t seem overly confident about Moore’s MCL sprain in his Tuesday presser. If he can’t go for health reasons, that’s one thing. But if he can go and starts over Jones, you’d have to question Tomlin’s decision-making.
In his 17 years of coaching, Tomlin has been stubborn about starting rookies. The same is happening with Joey Porter Jr. He’s performed decidedly better than any of the safeties in the backfield, yet his snaps are few and far between.
Starting a rookie backfired when forced to start Kendrick Green in his first year, but Green was a mid-round guy. The Steelers traded up with their first overall pick to get Jones to protect Kenny Pickett‘s blindside. He had a stellar first career outing and should be given a chance to keep it going. Dan Moore is not the future. Broderick Jones is. That future should start now.
