Steelers release Landry Jones

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a youth movement at the backup quarterback position behind starter Ben Roethlisberger.

The Steelers on Saturday announced the roster moves to establish the initial 53-man roster, and veteran backup signal-caller Landry Jones was among the cuts.

With Jones no longer on the roster, the Steelers are counting on second-year pro Josh Dobbs and rookie Mason Rudolph, the team's third-round pick.

Pittsburgh is taking a calculated gamble by leaning on youth over experience, as Jones was a capable fill whenever Roethlisberger missed time. Since joining the Steelers in 2013 as a fourth-round pick, Jones has appeared in 19 games with five starts, going 3-2 when thrust in a starting role. He finished his time in Pittsburgh passing for 1,310 yards and eight touchdowns with seven interceptions.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000957612/article/steelers-release-veteran-backup-qb-landry-jones

Didn't see that one coming.

I'm shocked, but excited. I didn't see this coming, but I had hoped for it after Dobbs did so well the other night.

Lokki wrote:

I'm shocked, but excited.   I didn't see this coming, but I had hoped for it after Dobbs did so well the other night.  

Agreed. I've always tried to not think about the day Ben retires and I still don't want to think about it, and even though I am sorry to see Landry go, it is definitely nice they have some talented young guys behind Ben now that could be the future.

now begins the battle to be Big Ben's future replacement wish both Dobbs and Rudolph a lot of luck. 2 young talented QBs who are learning Fichtner's new offense from the beginning imo this is huge. 2 young talented players who the Steelers have under contract for what the next 3 to 4 years and could be easy for the Steelers to sign both players to second contracts and have both on the team for what 7 to 8 years.

the way the NFL is so pass happy now having very good QB is a must having 2 would be unreal a few team don't have one on their team. another thing I like about the Dobbs and Rudolph match up is they are not carbon copies of each other each one bring something a little different to the position.

Love the move. Dobbs played very well this preseason and looked to me like he's grown up quite a bit. Much more poised in the pocket. Better footwork, and better vision. You can tell he's seeing the field better and he doesn't just run away under pressure. He feels it, moves, keeps his eyes downfield, and stands in there and makes good throws. He has definitely improved over last season. Last season he looked like a project, this year he's handled himself well and looks like he's got potential to be a quality backup with upside that could make him starting material in the future.

Jones had hit his ceiling, he'll be a decent backup somewhere else, but that's all he'll ever be. Starting material he was not. That's not to take away from the guy, he's obviously still good enough to be playing in the pros and his contributions to this team shouldn't be ignored.

Dobbs still has a lot of room for improvement imo. In college he played his games often without any preparation because he had to study hard. Where other players had their focus on their football career, Dobbs' focus was on his studies.

I guess Dobbs is our #2 going into the season. Here's the thing. If Ben misses time we don't have to sit here hoping Jones can win games but instead be excited to see what Dobbs or Rudolph can do. I'm as confidant in either one as I was with Jones.

I wish Jones well, thank him for his time here and hope he has a long career as a backup. I just think that's his peak. A backup.

I will say this, a lot of people (who call themselves fans) are saying disgusting things on social media about Jones. While I've had my frustrations with the guy, I think he's handled criticism from unrealistic fans incredibly well and has been a consummate professional through his five year career with the Steelers' organization. He wasn't the heir apparent, I think we knew that within the first couple of years of him being with the team, but people put these expectations on him to be Ben's replacement the minute he was drafted and that is just unrealistic.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

I will say this, a lot of people (who call themselves fans) are saying disgusting things on social media about Jones. While I've had my frustrations with the guy, I think he's handled criticism from unrealistic fans incredibly well and has been a consummate professional through his five year career with the Steelers' organization. He wasn't the heir apparent, I think we knew that within the first couple of years of him being with the team, but people put these expectations on him to be Ben's replacement the minute he was drafted and that is just unrealistic.

I feel awful for whichever of Dobbs or Rudolph ends up replacing Ben because you just don't replace a first ballot HoFer. Not everyone gets what GB When they went from Favre to Rodgers. I hope we can be so fortunate but 99% of transitions aren't like that. Shamarko Thomas had the same difficulty replacing Troy. Anyhow I don't know why fans are such assholes. Jones tried his best. And I thought he was reliable when we needed him. Not a star or franchise QB but he performed admirably and I wish him well in Chapter 2 of his NFL career.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

I will say this, a lot of people (who call themselves fans) are saying disgusting things on social media about Jones. While I've had my frustrations with the guy, I think he's handled criticism from unrealistic fans incredibly well and has been a consummate professional through his five year career with the Steelers' organization. He wasn't the heir apparent, I think we knew that within the first couple of years of him being with the team, but people put these expectations on him to be Ben's replacement the minute he was drafted and that is just unrealistic.

This is definitely true. I had nothing against Jones and am sorry to see him go in that he doesn't have a job. But I do feel good with the decision the team made. I really like the potential of both Dobbs and rudolph. Hopefully Jones can catch on with another team.

jones will most definitely land on another roster. who knows, he may be better in a different system, like the west coast offense.

Jones was a reliable #2 the last 2 years. Some so-called fans should be ashamed.

Class act: Landry Jones called to congratulate Josh Dobbs on the promotion

The biggest news from the Pittsburgh Steelers over the holiday week was the release of quarterback Landry Jones and subsequent promotion of Josh Dobbs. After practice on Monday Dobbs talked about the call he got from offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and then he got a second call from Landry Jones which was pretty impressive.

https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/04/class-act-landry-jones-called-to-congratulate-josh-dobbs-on-the-promotion/

Within 5 minutes of being told he made the team. Josh Dobbs took a call Saturday from Landry Jones.
"Congratulations. Best of luck, If you every need anything (call me)."

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 3, 2018

Wallace108 wrote:

Class act: Landry Jones called to congratulate Josh Dobbs on the promotion

The biggest news from the Pittsburgh Steelers over the holiday week was the release of quarterback Landry Jones and subsequent promotion of Josh Dobbs. After practice on Monday Dobbs talked about the call he got from offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and then he got a second call from Landry Jones which was pretty impressive.

https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/04/class-act-landry-jones-called-to-congratulate-josh-dobbs-on-the-promotion/

Within 5 minutes of being told he made the team. Josh Dobbs took a call Saturday from Landry Jones.
"Congratulations. Best of luck, If you every need anything (call me)."

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 3, 2018

The call to Dobbs says everything about Jones' character and the fact that he showed class. I wish him the best and honestly I would be delighted to see him in a system where he could be a starter.

At the end of the day the NFL is a business supplying a product and our FO obviously thinks Dobbs/Rudolph play best in future plans for this product.

Roethlisberger on Landry Jones' termination: 'Kind of shocking'

When he resumes practicing Wednesday, Ben Roethlisberger isn’t sure whether he will see Le’Veon Bell in the locker room. What he knows is he won’t see Landry Jones, and that brings up mixed emotions for the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.

Jones, who was entering his sixth season, had his contract terminated Saturday, leaving unproven players Joshua Dobbs and Mason Rudolph as quarterbacks.

On his 93.7-FM weekly radio segment, Roethlisberger said he spoke with Jones shortly after the Steelers parted ways with the veteran backup.

“It definitely was kind of shocking, but I guess I understand why they did it in terms of business-wise,” Roethlisberger said. “The other guys are cheaper and they can keep them under contract for three more years.”

https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14045071-74/steelers-ben-roethlisberger-on-landry-jones-termination-kind-of-shocking

---------------------------------------------------

While that's true, I don't think money was a deciding factor in releasing Jones. The only thing Jones had working in his favor was experience, and that wasn't reason enough to keep him over a QB with more upside.

I agree with Wallace in that it came down to potential over experience. Tomlin talked about the decision in an article at PPG that is mainly about Bell not signing:


Tomlin also addressed the decision to keep second-year quarterback Josh Dobbs over veteran Landry Jones, who had been the primary backup to Ben Roethlisberger since the middle of the 2015 season. He said Dobbs’ consistency and his ability to take a big step in his development from year 1 to year 2 was the biggest factor in the decision.

“It was a very difficult decision,” Tomlin said. “That speaks to the process that we had a good 90 [man roster]. It wasn’t about what Landry did or didn’t do. It was about what Josh did. He rose up in the face of it and provided good and consistent play for us. We got very comfortable with his second-year development.”

Dobbs, who has never taken a snap in an NFL regular-season game, is the backup, but Tomlin did not close the door on rookie third-round pick Mason Rudolph also getting reps with the first- and second-team offense in practice. In previous years, the third-string quarterback mostly ran the scout team and did very little with the Steelers offense.
“I’m not suggesting he’s only going to get scout team reps,” Tomlin said. “We’re going to continue with his work and development. This is not a finished product as we kick out of the gates. We better be a group on the rise in all aspects of our game.”


http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2018/09/04/le-veon-bell-contract-steelers-browns-mike-tomlin-roster-exemption/stories/201809040089

Wallace108 wrote:

Class act: Landry Jones called to congratulate Josh Dobbs on the promotion

The biggest news from the Pittsburgh Steelers over the holiday week was the release of quarterback Landry Jones and subsequent promotion of Josh Dobbs. After practice on Monday Dobbs talked about the call he got from offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and then he got a second call from Landry Jones which was pretty impressive.

https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/04/class-act-landry-jones-called-to-congratulate-josh-dobbs-on-the-promotion/

Within 5 minutes of being told he made the team. Josh Dobbs took a call Saturday from Landry Jones.
"Congratulations. Best of luck, If you every need anything (call me)."

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 3, 2018

That is just incredible. I like who the Steelers kept but really hate to see Landry go. I'd guess there aren't many guys like him in professional sports.

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

Class act: Landry Jones called to congratulate Josh Dobbs on the promotion

The biggest news from the Pittsburgh Steelers over the holiday week was the release of quarterback Landry Jones and subsequent promotion of Josh Dobbs. After practice on Monday Dobbs talked about the call he got from offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and then he got a second call from Landry Jones which was pretty impressive.

https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/04/class-act-landry-jones-called-to-congratulate-josh-dobbs-on-the-promotion/

Within 5 minutes of being told he made the team. Josh Dobbs took a call Saturday from Landry Jones.
"Congratulations. Best of luck, If you every need anything (call me)."

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 3, 2018

That is just incredible. I like who the Steelers kept but really hate to see Landry go. I'd guess there aren't many guys like him in professional sports.

Yeah, I was a fan of Jones. He was a decent backup, and I really wanted to see him continue to improve. But he seemed to hit his ceiling already. Like Tomlin said .... Jones didn't lose the job; Dobbs won it. And Jones handled it with total class. I'm rooting for him to find success with another team. As long as it doesn't affect us, of course.

I know the Steelers don't like having players that just left or retired as coaches, but Jones would probably make a good coach a few years down the road.