After drafting Max Iheanachor with the 21st overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the future of the Steelers 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones became murky to say the least. Just one week after selecting their third offensive tackle in the first round in the last four years, it became official that Pittsburgh would indeed decline the fifth-year option on Jones’s rookie contract.
The 19.1 million dollars the Steelers would have owed Jones for 2027 if they had decided to pick up the option would have put him inside the top-20 highest-paid players at the position for that season. Jones has not played since suffering a neck injury against the Chicago Bears on November 23rd.
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That injury caused Jones to get surgery on his neck, and the severity of the injury is still not fully known. At the NFL Combine, Steelers general manager Omar Khan was asked about Jones and his availability for offseason programs and camps.
“He had a significant injury, and we’re monitoring how he progresses. I know he’s working hard.” Khan said via Mike DeFabo. “It’s still early in the process, but that’s certainly something that we’re monitoring.”
That answer certainly didn’t rule anything out, but the Steelers clearly had plans to look in a different direction. The Steelers still have control of Jones for the upcoming season, but the drafting of Iheanachor all but shuts the door on Jones’s time as a starting tackle in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers are likely to have two new starters on their offensive line to start the 2026 campaign. Max Iheanachor figures to slide into left tackle, while third-round pick Gennings Dunker and Spencer Anderson will likely have an open competition at training camp for the starting left guard position.
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