When asked if he was frustrated about the rotation, he said he wasn’t, but that he doesn’t think he should play if not in the starting lineup.
“Not really. If not starting I really don’t feel like I should be playing. It’s really not a big factor for me,” Jones said via KDKA’s The Extra Point after the game.
Those two points seem to counteract each other, but the main takeaway is that Jones doesn’t think he should be rotating in with Fautanu. Today, it didn’t work out, and the idea of the rotation was quickly abandoned, and with the way Jones played, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was on the bench next week.
The team seems to like Fautanu, and with him fully healthy now he got his first NFL start. He also played much better and more mistake-free than Jones, who also had a shaky preseason and Week 1 effort. It might benefit Jones to spend some time on the bench and continue to develop, as he was a raw prospect coming out of Georgia and then became a starter midway through last season, although at right tackle instead of his natural left tackle spot. He hasn’t developed as the team hoped, which makes him seemingly not wanting to get reps if they come in a rotation a little bit questionable.
He’s still a young guy, only five months older than Fautanu despite being drafted a year earlier, but the fact that he’s seemed to taken a step back so far this season and potentially cost the Steelers points with his penalties today don’t help his case for playing more. And seemingly, he doesn’t want to play more if it comes in a rotation with Fautanu, which doesn’t seem like it will be the plan going forward given the way the Steelers ditched it today.
Dan Moore Jr. has been decent so far at left tackle for the Steelers, but he’s had his struggles in the past, and maybe if he struggles again, then Jones can get a look at his natural position. But right now, it seems as if the bench is where Jones will be in the immediate future.