The Tennessee Titans have released offensive tackle Andre Dillard. After a disappointing season starting with the team, they cut ties with his $10.7 million cap hit. But with the Steelers needing some tackle depth, naturally, someone with the starting experience that Dillard has should be on the radar to fill the role of a swing tackle.
But more than that, Dillard was the Philadelphia Eagles’ first-round pick in 2019. The Steelers’ assistant general manager was the vice president of player personnel in Philadelphia then. Although the pick has not worked out, Dillard feels like someone who could at least come in and compete for the swing tackle job.
Over his career, Dillard has 19 games of starting experience, including 10 games last year in Tennessee. Given Dillard’s struggles, the singing would be for nothing more than depth. However, he is athletic and can block in space, which is ideal for Arthur Smith’s wide zone running scheme. Right now, Pittsburgh has a glut of tackles on the roster down the depth chart, but Dylan Cook would be the favorite to win the swing tackle job.
This is a position that the team seems destined to address. General manager Omar Khan believes that Broderick Jones is a left tackle, and will back there eventually, but the sooner, the better.
I’ve said this before, but versatility on the offensive line is important. He proved he could play right tackle last year but he was drafted to be a left tackle. And eventually, he will be a left tackle. When that is, time will tell, but he was drafted to be a left tackle,” Khan said.
Jones replaced left tackle Dan Moore during the team’s Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans when Moore suffered a knee sprain, and he started the following week against the Baltimore Ravens.
But when Moore returned to health, Jones returned to the bench until Okorafor’s outburst gave him another shot. He did not give up that role, becoming a bulldozer in the run game while struggling a bit down the stretch in pass protection.
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