Mike Tomlin explained why the Steelers Joe Berger Authentic Jersey elected to re-sign Landry Jones to be their backup quarterback for the next two seasons.
The team's fourth round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Jones signed a two-year, $4.4 million deal to remain with the Steelers through the 2018 season earlier this month.
"He has continually improved over his four years with us. He's answered the call and really answered the call in an above the line manner," Tomlin said to Steelers.com's Missy Matthews. "He's been given an opportunity to grow and show growth, and that growth has been consistent from our perspective. The opportunity that he had in Week 17 to deliver victory for us was a great experience for him, it was a great information gathering for us.
"We're extremely conformable with the overall trajectory of his career, (and) we're hopeful for what he's able to provide for us moving forward."
Love the Pittsburgh Steelers? Then what are you waiting for? Stay in the loop and sign up for our FREE Steelers newsletter!
Jones, who is 2-2 as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback over the past two seasons, pursued a starting opportunity with other NFL franchises this offseason. But after not getting any opportunities to compete for a starting quarterback job on the open market, Jones decided to return to Pittsburgh.
"I wasn't going to be stupid. If there was a place to Otis Sistrunk Womens Jersey go play somewhere, I would want to take that chance and give myself that take that opportunity," Jones said shortly after resigning with the Steelers. "It didn't turn out. So once that was over with, I was like, 'Shoot, I'm going go back to Pittsburgh.'
"There wasn't any tough decision about it. I'm very familiar with this place, and I'm just thankful that I have a job and a spot to come back to. It was the best decision for me and my family. For us, if all things were equal, I wasn't going to go anywhere. I wasn't going to leave Pittsburgh. They've treated me so well here, so that's where my mindset was."
After not receiving a single regular season snap during his first two NFL seasons, injuries thrust him Jones action for the first time six games into the 2015 season, in which he responded by throwing a pair of second half touchdown passes to Martavis Bryant in the Steelers' 25-13 victory over a Cardinals team that would eventually reach the NFC title game.
The Steelers saw tangible evidence in Jones' growth during the 2016 season. He threw four touchdowns against two interceptions in 2016 after throwing three touchdowns and five picks in 2015. He also completed 61.6 percent of his passes last http://www.authenticraiderssale.com/shop-by-players-latavius-murray... season after completing just 58.2 percent of his throws during the 2015 season. He threw for 281 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Patriots in Week 7, and he engineered a comeback victory over the Browns in Week 17 that ended with a game-winning touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton in overtime.
Despite some of the criticism from the outside, Jones is excited to be back in Pittsburgh, where he will look to continue to backup Ben Roethlisberger for the foreseeable future.
"It's just a huge weight off of my shoulders, for sure," he said. "It was constantly in the back of my mind the whole time after the Patriots game. Justhttp://www.authenticsaintsshop.com/shop-by-players-will-lutz-jersey... to have it done is a huge weight off my shoulders.
"The Rooney's treat you great. All of the coaches treat you great. It's just a great chance to be."