After Moore took 10 snaps with the starting staff last week against the Bucs, Jones entered the backups. The rookie played 49 offensive snaps (76.7 percent), more than any Steelers offensive lineman. Jones played hard but allowed a sack, hit a QB and rejected one penalty, per PFF.
Under head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers weren’t a team that regularly threw freshmen into the fire without a little first seasoning. We saw it with Kenny Pickett last year and we see it again with Jones.
Earning playing time is perfectly fine with a 6-foot-5, 311-pound left tackle.
“I’m not really big on coming in, and you know, just jump in with those right away,” Jones said. “You know, I like to feel things.”
The Steelers coined Jones as a long-running answer to Pickett’s blind side. The rookie earned muted praise from Tomlin after making the rookie preseason.
The question moving forward will be at what point the Steelers feel comfortable enough to give Jones a chance on the first gig. Tomlin’s history suggests it won’t be the first week, but at some point this season, we could see a changing of the guard in the LT.
“I feel like it’s an advantage for me to just sit back and watch someone who’s, you know, older, do that for years,” said Jones. “So just being able to sit back, watch what works for him, what doesn’t work for him, you know, is trying to apply those little things to my game, you know, I feel like that’s a plus.”
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