Is Landry Jones ready to be Big Ben’s backup?

With Antwon Blake, Brandon Boykin, and Dri Archer out of Pittsburgh, the most polarizing player on the Steelers roster is without a doubt Landry Jones.

Jones’ time in Pittsburgh has been strange to say the least. Ever since being drafted in the 4th round by the Steelers in the 2013 draft, he’s faced relentless criticism from Steeler nation. This hate hasn’t been unwarranted either; during his first 3 years he continually disappointed in both training camp and preseason.

However, when he was forced into action during the 2016 season he unexpectedly led the Steelers to a comeback victory versus the Arizona Cardinals (who went on to play in the NFC championship.) In this game he completed 8/12 passes for 168 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions; an impressive feat.

The next week versus the Kansas City Chiefs, he quickly made people forget about his notable play the week prior, by leading the team to a devastating loss. After posting a passer rating of 149.3 versus the Cardinals, that stat dropped to 60.8 versus the chiefs. Comparing these stats perfectly demonstrates the issue with Jones: inconsistency.

Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract and must be ready for action. While many fans and writers have been vocal about them wanting the Steelers to cut Jones, the coaches have been adamant with their claims about seeing growth in the young quarterback. The Steelers have been patient with his development and have given him multiple opportunities to prove himself.

While it is true that Jones played better than many expected during the 2015 season, we all expect more from a quarterback drafted in the fourth round – especially one in his third year with the team. Its crunch time for Jones, and the coaches surely know this. He was drafted in order to be a solid backup for Ben Roethlisberger, and that is the expectation for him entering the preseason.

Do I think Jones will win the job?

Yes.

Do I think Jones is ready for the job?

No.

Though Jones helped us win a game, I still don’t have enough faith in him to be at peace if he were to enter the game. I understand that not many teams have reliable back-up quarterbacks that they would be content with leading their team, but that doesn’t make me feel better at Jones. He has flashed his talent and shown that he is capable of efficiently running this offense, but his play has been littered with inconsistency. He simply hasn’t done enough for me to have faith in him as our back-up quarterback.

With Jones, my skepticism trumps my optimism.