Broderick Jones Cleared to Practice: Steelers LT Avoids PUP List After Neck Surgery Recovery

The Pittsburgh Steelers got the news they had been waiting months for on Tuesday. Left tackle Broderick Jones has been medically cleared to practice at training camp, general manager Omar Khan confirmed, avoiding a stint on the Physically Unable to Perform list and setting up an immediate battle for a starting job up front. The update quickly became one of the top storylines out of Steelers camp, with Jones trending on social media as fans reacted to the surprisingly fast timeline for his return.

Jones, a first-round pick out of Georgia in 2023, has started 38 games across three NFL seasons, beginning his career at right tackle before sliding to left tackle for the 2025 campaign. His season ended abruptly in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears, when he suffered a neck injury while trying to protect quarterback Mason Rudolph on a touchdown drive. The injury required spinal fusion surgery, and Pittsburgh went 4-4 the rest of the way without him, cycling through Calvin Anderson, Andrus Peat and Dylan Cook at left tackle down the stretch and into the postseason.

A Faster Recovery Than Expected

Khan told reporters Jones “is in a good place and he’s been cleared to go,” adding that the team plans to be smart about how quickly it ramps him up on the practice field, even with the clearance in hand. The distinction matters given how serious spinal fusion recovery timelines typically are, and it comes on the same day Pro Bowl safety Jalen Ramsey opened camp on the PUP list, a split outcome that made Jones’ clearance stand out even more.

For Pittsburgh fans following along via Pennsylvania sportsbooks, the medical update also resolves, at least for now, a subplot that had been simmering since the offseason. The Steelers declined the fifth-year option on Jones’ rookie contract in late April, a decision that would have guaranteed him roughly $18 million for 2027 had they exercised it. That move signaled real uncertainty about his health and his long-term fit, and it fueled speculation throughout the spring that Pittsburgh could eventually look to trade him if a suitor emerged. With Jones now cleared to work at Saint Vincent College, that conversation shifts, at least for the moment, back toward on-field competition rather than a front-office decision.

What It Means for the Tackle Battle

Troy Fautanu is expected to hold down one starting tackle spot after battling his own injury issues last year, leaving the other job up for grabs between Jones, Dylan Cook and rookie Max Iheanachor, whom Pittsburgh selected in the first round largely as insurance behind Jones. If Jones proves during camp that he can handle a full practice workload, he immediately becomes the favorite to reclaim a starting job he held for parts of three seasons. If the ramp-up stalls, Iheanachor or Cook could get first crack at extended reps instead.

For a Steelers offensive line that took a clear step back once Jones went down last November, his health is one of the biggest swing factors for how the 2026 season unfolds up front. Bettors weighing a DraftKings promo code on Pittsburgh’s win total or division odds this summer will want to watch camp reports closely over the next few weeks, since a healthy, productive Jones changes the math on how much the Steelers can lean on the run game and protect whoever starts at quarterback.

What Comes Next

Jones is not guaranteed a clean bill of health simply because he passed his physical. Coaches and trainers will monitor him closely through padded practices and preseason games before determining whether he’s ready for a full workload in Week 1. But clearing the medical hurdle is the biggest step yet in his return, and it turns training camp into appointment viewing for a Steelers team that needs its former first-round tackle back at full strength if it hopes to contend in a loaded AFC.