Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Broderick Jones at OTAs on May 18, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach James Campen weighed in on offensive tackle Broderick Jones‘ status heading into the 2026 season. Jones has lost a significant amount of weight due to not being able to lift after undergoing neck surgery.
“He’ll play tackle. Obviously, he’ll be a tackle,” Campen said Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “And just hoping that he needs to get healthy, and he’s doing what he can now, and he does participate with all the doctor rules and those things. So we’re just excited to get him back, and when he’s ready, then that’s another piece of the puzzle I’d say. That’s a good football player.”
Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Broderick Jones at OTAs on May 18, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
For the first time, Jones gave an update on his recovery from a devastating season-ending neck injury last year.
“Recovery is good. I feel fine, just getting back to it,” Jones said at OTAs last Wednesday.
In regard to his timeline of being 100 percent, Jones said he’s unsure.
“I really don’t have a timeline. They never gave me a timeline,” he said. “They’re just monitoring it day by day. We’ll go from there.”
Jones expects to work on both sides of the offensive line when he gets back. He doesn’t take the first-round selection of Max Iheanachor personally, saying, “It’s all a business at the end of the day.”
The Steelers haven’t given any kind of a timeframe for Jones’ return to full health, with general manager Omar Khan admitting their was a “little concern there” as the team drafted Iheanachor with the club’s first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The drafting of Iheanachor, and a few days later, the team declining to pick up Jones’ fifth-year option for the 2027 season, were a couple of big signs that the team was more than concerned about Jones’ future.
Alan Saunders and Brenden Howe provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
Mentioned In This Article: Broderick Jones James Campen Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Steelers News steelers OTAs