The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Jarvis Jones in 2013 with the 17th overall pick in the first round. In his four seasons with the Steelers, Jones totaled 83 tackles. His best season came in his rookie year, totaling 30 tackles. Jones recorded 29 tackles in 2016, along with one sack and one interception. Jones started out the year strong, forcing a key turnover in the regular season opener against the Washington Redskins.
Making the Case For and Against Jarvis Jones
However, as the season went on, Jones’ performance fell off a bit while veteran leader James Harrison seemed to get better. Jones was eventually replaced by Harrison in the starting lineup and the Steelers began using four outside linebackers throughout the game (Harrison, Jones, Bud Dupree and Anthony Chickillo). The Steelers just recently re-signed Chickillo to a one-year deal, making it more unlikely that Jones is also re-signed. Jones made just under $2.2 million in 2016.
For
The pros to keeping Jones are mainly his speed and versatility when it comes to defending against the pass. Not only can Jones use his speed to rush the quarterback, but his quickness allows him to be able to cover wide receivers. Jones was a solid change of pace to Harrison last year. While Harrison brought strength and power and is known for his bull rush, Jones brought more versatility and is known more for using his speed to get around blockers.
Against
The cons to keeping Jones come from some of the same things that make him successful. His speed and quickness came at the expense of his size. Jones is one of the smaller pass-rushers on the Steelers and has some trouble getting around the much bigger offensive linemen. Jones has also shown a tendency to miss some crucial tackles. The main criticism of Jones though is most likely due to the fact that he hasn’t been very successful as a pass-rusher in the NFL. Jones hasn’t recorded more than one sack in any of his four NFL seasons, but at the University of Georgia, Jones was a dominant force. Steelers fans were excited for the potential of having another stellar pass-rusher, but so far Jones hasn’t been able to live up to his expectations.
Plus, the Steelers don’t really need Jones. Harrison has expressed interest in returning for another season and Dupree had a very impressive end of the season. On top of that, Chickillo just resigned for another season, and Arthur Moats is back for one more year so it seems that there isn’t much room left for Jones on the Steelers defense.
Verdict
In conclusion, it doesn’t seem like resigning Jones is worth it to the Steelers. The Steelers likely aren’t too worried about replacing Jones either, seeing as they’re known for being able to develop talent at the linebacker position. The only way Jones is likely to stay is if he doesn’t ask for much money. But at age 27, he’s likely looking for a long-term deal with stability. The Steelers aren’t likely to pay out much money for a backup outside linebacker, especially since they just resigned Chickillo. When asked about Jones’ future, Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola wrote, “I believe Jarvis Jones will seek a fresh start somewhere else.”
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