Steelers Injury Updates•Steelers News
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones during a game against the New York Jets on Sept. 7, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
PHOENIX — Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan provided an update on left tackle Broderick Jones’ status after suffering a season-ending neck injury in Week 12 last season.
“Broderick’s starting to do more and more,” Khan said at the NFL Owners Meetings in Phoenix on Monday. “I talked to him a couple times over the last couple weeks. He’s in a good place and ready to work hard and do whatever he can to be ready to go.”
Khan must choose whether to pick up left tackle Jones’ fifth-year option by May 1. The price tag for Jones’ fifth-year option will be $19.072 million.
Khan raised eyebrows when he revealed at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis that the Steelers are monitoring whether Jones will be ready for the start of training camp.
“Obviously, he had a significant injury and we’re monitoring how he progresses,” Khan said. “I know he’s working hard. It’s early in the process. That’s certainly something that we’re monitoring.”
The Steelers are hopeful about Jones’ status for the 2026 season, however, according to Gerry Dulac and Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“The Steelers appear to have a more-hopeful-but-still cautious outlook about the recovery of left tackle Broderick Jones,” the Post-Gazette wrote. “The team’s No. 1 draft pick in 2023 could be ready for training camp in July after having neck surgery in December. His timetable is six months, not nine months.”
Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones at practice on Oct. 23, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reported earlier this month that Jones underwent fusion surgery.
“When left tackle Broderick Jones was injured in Week 12, the Steelers initially downplayed it and suggested he had a chance to return before the playoffs. However, fusion surgery in Jones’ neck could be a major curveball that changes plans in the short and long term,” DeFabo wrote.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, spinal fusion is a surgery procedure that reinforces your back structure and stability by linking two vertebrae together. The vertebrae support each other, with the goal of reducing pain and easing symptoms related to your spinal cord and nerves. Typical recovery lasts 3–6 months for daily activity, though full bone fusion can take a year.
Recent former Steelers — Trenton Thompson and Ryan Watts — both retired due to neck injuries. There’s been no indication that Jones’ injury is career threatening. But his status for 2026 is currently uncertain.
Jones started 11 games at left tackle last season, taking over for Dan Moore Jr., who left to join the Tennessee Titans in free agency. Jones mainly played right tackle before that.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Phoenix.
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