The Dallas Cowboys have acquired offensive tackle Broderick Jones from the Pittsburgh Steelers, accepting considerable medical and contractual uncertainty in an attempt to strengthen their line immediately before the regular season.

Dallas will send third- and sixth-round selections in the 2027 NFL draft to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jones and a fourth-round pick in the same year. The trade remains subject to the 25-year-old passing a physical.

Jones was selected 14th overall in 2023 after the Steelers traded up three places to secure the former Georgia tackle. He started 38 of 45 appearances across his first three seasons but leaves Pittsburgh having lost his projected place in the starting line-up. His final Steelers campaign ended when a neck injury suffered against Chicago in Week 12 required spinal-fusion surgery. Jones was cleared to resume football activity at the beginning of training camp, but has acknowledged that clearance did not mean his strength, weight and technique had fully returned after the long rehabilitation.

“I’m still working through it,” he said during camp. “I wouldn’t say I’m where I want to be at. Just trying to get back in shape and putting the weight back on in the right places.”

Pittsburgh initially drafted Jones to become its long-term left tackle but used him predominantly on the right during his first two seasons. He returned to the position he played at Georgia in 2025 before the neck injury interrupted what had been an encouraging campaign. The Steelers’ plans moved on during his recovery. Troy Fautanu worked at left tackle this summer, while rookie Max Iheanachor emerged as an option on the right. Jones consequently spent much of the preseason in a reserve role despite head coach Mike McCarthy continuing to describe him as a starting-calibre player.

“I think it speaks volumes for Broderick and what he’s been doing here the last couple of months,” McCarthy said during training camp. “When a player comes off medical clearance, you can’t just go to a hundred miles an hour. Broderick, he’s been a starter here.”

Pittsburgh’s willingness to trade Jones nevertheless shows that Fautanu and Iheanachor had moved ahead of him in its longer-term plans, having previously declined the fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract. Jones can therefore become a free agent after the 2026 season, leaving Dallas with no contractual control beyond the coming campaign unless the sides agree an extension, increasing the stakes attached to the picks traded in the deal.

The attraction lies in Jones’ age, experience and physical ability. He has played both tackle positions and, before his injury, had accumulated nearly three full seasons of starting work. Dallas already has Tyler Guyton at left tackle and Terence Steele on the right, but Jones gives the Cowboys another experienced option if either struggles or becomes unavailable and could challenge Steele immediately if his strength returns.

Should Jones win the right tackle position, Dallas could field four former first-round selections around centre Cooper Beebe, with Jones and Guyton at tackle and Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker at guard. Jones, however, has conceded that recovering his football movements following surgery remains a gradual process.

“I missed a lot of football, and I can just feel it when I get out there,” he said earlier this month. “It’s the muscle memory that’s got to come back. I still feel good. My sets are still there. I’ve just got to get back to being able to play football. However long that takes, I’m willing to do it.”