Aug 12, 2016 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Steelers outside linebackers coach Joey Porter said earlier in training camp the team would like to scrap its rotation at that position.

Last season, the rotation included Bud Dupree and Athur Moats on the left side and Jarvis Jones and James Harrison on the right.

But Porter rightly pointed out that, as former first-round draft picks, Dupree and Jones are the future.

“The rotation kind of came from the fact that we have to get some production some way,” Porter said. “The rotation came out of that. If those guys get hot, those guys are our starters.”

That won’t be the case if what happens Friday night in the Steelers’ preseason opener continues to occur.

With Dupree and Jones sitting out with minor injuries, Harrison and Moats got the starts against Detroit.

All the two veterans did was everything the Steelers hope to someday get out of Dupree and Jones.

Moats had consistent pressure on Detroit’s quarterbacks the entire time he was on the field.

Harrison, meanwhile, did what he does best, beating rookie left tackle Taylor Decker around the outside to sack Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford and force a fumble that was recovered by Moats to end a Lions scoring threat.

Dupree and Jones couldn’t have been too comfortable seeing that.

Porter is right. There isn’t a future in playing the 38-year-old Harrison and 28-year-old Moats. Besides, the Steelers spent first-round draft picks on Jones and Dupree in 2013 and 2015, respectively.

To this point, the return on those picks has been minimal. Jones has been beset by injuries in his first three seasons and Dupree was a project when the Steelers drafted him. He was considered more of an athlete than a football player.

The problem the Steelers have is, even though they want to start Jones and Dupree, their most disruptive outside linebackers continue to be Harrison and Moats.

And with a team poised to make a Super Bowl push, the smart play is to go with Harrison and Moats – or at least to continue the rotation to allow those two to impact games.

Jones, in particular, has seen his progress hindered by the addition of Harrison, which came, ironically because Jones suffered what was effectively a season-ending injury early in his second season.

Jones has played so little – less than 50 percent of the snaps last season – that the Steelers remain unsure what to do with him. The Steelers declined to pick up his option for a fifth year last offseason, instead waiting to see what he does this season before giving him a big or even moderate payday.

It’s an understandable position for the Steelers to take.

And if things continue on this course, the Steelers will finish the year still not knowing if Jones or Dupree are legitimate NFL starters.

Some people say they already know Jones isn’t an NFL-caliber starter. To those people, Jones will never live up to being a first-round draft pick.

The Steelers aren’t sold on that being the case. They still think Jones can develop.

That might not happen with Harrison and his longstanding legacy still looming large on this roster.

And any playing time Moats gets over Dupree further retards his progress.

The Steelers need their two young outside linebackers on the field, sooner rather than later. They need Jones and Dupree to show that they have made progress.

If not, the rotation will continue, whether it’s the best thing to do for the long term or not.

Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.