FILE – Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones (77) plays during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh Oct. 12, 2025.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after Friday’s preseason finale that there was a plan for the future of the backup offensive tackle situation. It didn’t take long to reveal it.
The Cowboys traded a third- and sixth-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fourth-round pick and offensive tackle Broderick Jones, two people familiar with the trade told The Dallas Morning News on Saturday.
The Steelers selected Jones with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He’s played in 45 games during his three-year career and started in 38. Jones appeared to be on the Steelers’ roster bubble for first-year head coach Mike McCarthy, who previously was the coach of the Cowboys. Instead of waiting to see if the Steelers would place Jones on waivers, the Cowboys jumped ahead and secured more competition for their backup tackle situation.
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By the time Friday’s preseason finale ended, it was clear the Cowboys could use more backup tackle options. Throughout training camp and the preseason, they primarily worked with two backup tackle options: fourth-round rookie Drew Shelton and former seventh-round pick Nate Thomas, who started the offseason in a competition for the starting left tackle spot with Tyler Guyton. The competition didn’t last long. The Cowboys suspended the competition a week into training camp because they wanted to see more from Thomas before it resumed.
Instead of rejoining the competition with Guyton, Thomas was moved to right tackle after the first preseason game. Shelton, subsequently, moved from right tackle to left tackle with the second team.
Both Thomas and Shelton had their share of struggles during the preseason. Both were called for holding penalties in Friday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said earlier in the week that he wanted to see more growth from the two offensive tackles who were experimenting with playing on the opposite side of where they began this preseason. He said after the game he wanted to see the film before evaluating both.
Jerry Jones, however, was quick to insinuate a move could be coming.
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“We’ve seen some guys where we might do some shifting around if it called for it,” Jones said Friday when asked about the backup tackle situation. “But we’ve got a good plan and we’ll see where we go from here. It’s not over yet.”
Adding Broderick Jones appears to be part of that plan.
Jones is coming off a season-ending neck surgery from an injury he sustained in Week 12 of last season. He was cleared to return to practice in July, just eight months after surgery. Jones played at both left tackle and right tackle this preseason.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Cowboys adjust their roster after the trade. Sunday marks roster cut-down day across the league. The Cowboys have to get down to 53 players before Sunday’s 5 p.m. deadline. There will be more roster shuffling after the deadline, thanks to the waiver claim process and other veterans who are suddenly on the open market.
While the backup tackle situation remains a question, the Cowboys feel good about how Guyton has progressed this offseason. Guyton dealt with elbow soreness a little bit in camp but aside from that had a healthy offseason for the first time in his career. Schottenheimer said Guyton, a 2024 first-round pick, has been playing at a high level.
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“Tyler Guyton is playing as good of football as I’ve seen him play since he’s been a Dallas Cowboy,” Schottenheimer said.
Still, the Cowboys needed more from their backups in case something were to happen to Guyton or veteran Terence Steele at right tackle. They also have the flexibility to move Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith to left tackle if needed, just as they did at the end of last year.
“You’d rather not move two people, meaning if you bump [Smith] to [left tackle], you’d have to bump somebody in,” Schottenheimer said Friday. “So I’d rather not do it.
“But all options are open.”
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As Saturday’s trade for Jones showed.
Staff Writer Calvin Watkins contributed to this report.