Steelers Great Ben Roethlisberger Praises Dan Moore Jr "He's Saying 'No, I Want That Left Tackle Job"

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger released his latest podcast episode this week on Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. He discussed in length his thoughts and opinions on training camp. The main highlight from his talks with those he is close with inside the organization was the ongoing battle for the starting left tackle position between Dan Moore Jr. and first-round draft pick, Broderick Jones. Moore and Roethlisberger played 16 regular season games and one playoff game together in 2021.

Steelers Left Tackle Battle

Drafted in the fourth-round, 128th overall out of Texas A&M, Moore has been the starting left tackle for the past two years and in 2021 became the first Steelers rookie to start at left tackle since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. In each of his first two seasons, he has played and started all 33 games and blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in both 2021 and 2022. During his rookie season, he was one of five rookie starters for the Steelers season opener, the most since 1991. 

He faces a tall task in protecting that starting job from a first-round pick in Jones, who has less than two full seasons of starting experience at left tackle, only playing in 26 games for the Georgia Bulldogs, but in those games, won two National Championships and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2021. Having played together, Roethlisberger is a huge fan of Moore and loves his heart, his passion, his tenacity, and the way he wanted to be great. When the Steelers took Jones 14th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Roethlisberger texted Moore immediately.

“I texted Dan right away. 'Hey man,' something along the lines of, 'Keep your head up and let this motivate you, not put you down.' His response was, 'What do you mean?' Or um, 'What are you talking about, who did they take?' Like he didn’t even know they took him. It was almost like, 'I don’t care what they’re going to do, this is my job and I love it.'” 

Steelers.com

Pittsburgh Steelers' 2023 first-round draft pick Broderick Jones meets with the press for the first time.   

Steelers' Roethlisberger Loves the Fight

Roethlisberger went on to talk about the politics in football, stating that there is a good chance that Jones will play because he was a first-round pick, and you can't waste that money because if you don't play him, you will look like you failed or that you took the wrong guy. What he loves so much about the position battle and what he has heard is that Moore did not roll over and give up the job because so many times in his career, he saw guys get down on themselves and just give up because a guy was drafted at their position in the first or second round.

“He could've said you know what, I am going to fight to try and be the swing tackle. He's saying no, I want that left tackle job, I want that spot, and he's fighting for it and not giving up on it. I'm excited to see that battle the rest of camp, I'm going to tune in Friday to see what Dan does. I don’t know who is starting, but it’ll be awesome to watch. So big shoutouts to Dan and what he’s done. "

Steelers Fans, Get Your Popcorn Ready

Roethlisberger ended the thought with hopes that whoever wins the position battle, does so because they earned it, not because they were the starter last year or because they were drafted in the first round. The Steelers open up their preseason on Friday, August 11th down in Tampa, FL against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where Roethlisberger and fans will get to see the first live reps against another team for that left tackle position. 

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