Steelers officially decline fifth-year option on OT Broderick Jones
The 2023 first rounder is now set to become a free agent after the season.
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 Steelers are declining the fifth-year option for left tackle Broderick Jones, per source.
The option would’ve paid $19. 1M. Jones, who is coming off neck surgery, is set to be a 2027 free agent.
He has 38 career starts and was playing well pre-injury. pic. twitter.
com/k4HGRuVDN3 — Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 1, 2026 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.