Pittsburgh, we have a problem. After trading Broderick Jones and placing Jack Driscoll on injured reserve with a designation to return, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ initial 53-man roster contains only three true offensive tackles in Troy Fautanu, Dylan Cook and rookie Max Iheanachor.
So… who’s on fourth?
That might look like a minor depth-chart issue until somebody misses a snap. If Fautanu or whoever wins the right-tackle job misses one series this month, the Steelers would immediately be down to their last obvious tackle. For a team planning to squeeze another season out of Aaron Rodgers, that's not the way they want to enter Week 1.
Pittsburgh Steelers can’t let their four-quarterback roster leave Aaron Rodgers exposed
By designation, Driscoll misses at least Pittsburgh's first four games. That takes the Steelers through Atlanta, New England, Cincinnati, and Cleveland before their veteran swing option can return.
The depth problem looks worse because neither Cook nor Iheanachor looks like the kind of sure thing you'd want from a position protecting Rodgers. Cook spent much of the offseason with the first team and got work on both sides, but did nothing in the preseason that screams "he's our guy!" Iheanachor lost a chunk of August to a shoulder injury, which cost the first-round rookie valuable repetitions before he finally made his preseason debut.
If Iheanachor wins the starting right-tackle job, Cook becomes the swing tackle. If Cook starts, Pittsburgh has a rookie with limited work as its first man off the bench.
And after that?
Gennings Dunker played tackle at Iowa, so he's the obvious name to circle. But Pittsburgh has spent his rookie offseason moving him inside, and his projected role has centered on guard. Asking a rookie guard to suddenly kick outside against an NFL edge rusher because somebody rolled an ankle isn't the kind of emergency plan you want to discover during the second quarter.
Monday didn't provide an answer on the practice field because the Steelers didn't hold a standard practice. The club did bring Doug Nester and Steven Jones back on the practice squad, but Steelers.com lists both as offensive linemen rather than tackles. Jones has primarily been a guard, while Nester at least has college tackle experience.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have outside options to fix their offensive tackle depth
There are outside options, and Pittsburgh has hopefully started making calls. Blake Freeland is the most interesting developmental possibility after Indianapolis waived the 25-year-old former fourth-round pick. He has experience at both tackle spots and enough athletic ability to justify another look, even after missing 2025 with a broken leg. Still Curtain already identified Freeland as a logical post-cutdown target.
If Omar Khan wants something much more ambitious, Taylor Decker and Cam Robinson remain veteran free agents with extensive starting experience. Decker, 33, has 140 career starts and would be a massive upgrade from normal fourth-tackle fare, although price and his willingness to accept a reserve role are obvious hurdles. Robinson, 30, offers starting experience at left tackle but is coming off an uneven season in Cleveland.
The cheaper aisle includes Evan Neal, Chuma Edoga, and Cornelius Lucas. Neal is a reclamation project after the Giants released the former top-10 pick; Edoga was just released by Jacksonville after appearing in 14 games last season; and Lucas is a 35-year-old veteran who could provide experienced insurance.
None of those names need to arrive as threats to Fautanu or Iheanachor. Pittsburgh just needs somebody who can enter a game without forcing Mike McCarthy to reshuffle half the offensive line.
The roster squeeze deserves some scrutiny, too. Pittsburgh elected to carry four quarterbacks -- first in McCarthy's 18-year career -- a possibility that was already creating problems elsewhere on the roster before cutdown day. Keeping Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Drew Allar and Will Howard may make sense for the franchise's quarterback planning, but it means another position will have to operate one player lighter.
Right now, tackle appears to be paying that price.
The Jones trade itself was defensible. Pittsburgh turned a player it no longer trusted into future draft capital rather than dragging the experiment through another season. But the return only looks so good if Pittsburgh can cover the snaps Jones used to account for.
Driscoll eventually solves part of this. It's September; that's the problem. But one awkward pileup around Fautanu's ankle against Atlanta shouldn't be what it takes for the Steelers to discover who their fourth tackle is.
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