Steelers’ Jones ready for whatever comes his way
PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin used to joke that Landry Jones consistently broke records for preseason snaps.
Jones did, after all, lead the NFL in attempts, completions and yardage during the 2015 preseason.
Over the last five preseasons, he’s thrown 51 percent of the Steelers’ passes. It goes with being groomed as the backup to Ben Roethlisberger.
Jones’ run as Steelers’ preseason pass attempts leader was snapped last year by Joshua Dobbs, and his overall reign of the era could fall in tatters this preseason with the introduction of Mason Rudolph to the NFL.
“I could play a ton,” Jones said. “Or not play at all.”
Or somewhere in the middle, because four quarterbacks are vying for three jobs and each has something to prove.
n Roethlisberger will stay.
n Rudolph, who signed his rookie contract Wednesday, will stay.
n That leaves it up to Jones or Dobbs for the third spot.
Has Jones, who’s in the final season of his second contract, given it much thought?
“Man, you can’t start playing that numbers thing, because you have no idea what they’re talking about upstairs,” Jones said. “I was at a concert whenever they drafted Mason. Bruce Gradkowski texted me. That’s how I found out. But I hadn’t heard from any of the coaches asking me permission to draft Mason. It’s just a part of the business.”
So Jones is ready for anything, and that comes with being comfortable. He was comfortable down the stretch as a red-hot practice passer, and that carried into the regular-season finale he completed 23 of 27 passes for 239 yards in a 28-24 win over Cleveland. It was his third win in five career starts and gave him a career-high 99.3 passer rating for the season.
“Yeah, I was really comfortable,” Jones said in looking back. “Every year I play, the more comfortable I get, the more comfortable in the offense, the more comfortable just playing this game. Each year you develop and you get better, particularly with what I feel young quarterbacks usually struggle with: red-zone and third-down stuff. So now it’s getting to the point where I feel comfortable, and if I’m needed to go out there and play I can.”
It’s possible he’s become an NFL quarterback as he heads into his sixth season, or at least a quarterback who could give his team a chance if needed in a playoff game. A good parallel would be Frank Reich, who was 4-2 before stepping into the limelight at the end of his seventh season. Franchise QB Jim Kelly went down in the 1992 season finale for Buffalo and Reich stepped into the playoffs. He authored the greatest comeback in NFL history, from 35-3 to beat the Houston Oilers in overtime, and then quarterbacked the Bills to a playoff win over the Steelers. Kelly returned for the AFC title game.
By the way Jones finished last season, he could very well be that guy.
“Yeah, I feel I’ve shown people I can play. I can win games. I can win tight games,” Jones said. “If I’m here, that’s awesome. I love being here. Obviously I haven’t been anywhere else, but for me there’s no better place if I’m going to be a backup than here. If I’m not, then I’ll figure it out from there.”
Jones was the No. 1 quarterback at OTA 2 Wednesday due to the absence of Roethlisberger. And Jones probably plays the big brother role to Rudolph much better than does Roethlisberger.
And why not? They’re both Okies. Jones, from Oklahoma, is the Big 12’s all-time passing-yardage leader. Rudolph, out of Oklahoma State, is fourth.
“He’s doing well,” Jones said. “It’s tough to come in your first day and start making checks when you’re still trying to learn the offense, but he’s doing well.”
Jones shook his head about how difficult a rookie’s first spring can be.
“From my rookie year, I’m lucky I’m still around,” Jones said. “You’re playing from the middle of the field and you can’t spread them out and throws are tighter and windows are smaller. But he can throw the ball. He can make all the throws. He’ll be fine.”
So will Landry, whatever may come his way.