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Steelers depth chart: Jason Worilds now starting over Jarvis Jones

Jason Worilds has reclaimed the starting spot opposite LaMarr Woodley, ousting rookie Jarvis Jones.

By Michael Uhlhorn
Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

According to Bob Labriola, Jason Worilds has reclaimed the starting spot opposite LaMarr Woodley, ousting rookie Jarvis Jones.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Depth chart change: Jason Worilds now listed first-team at ROLB for <a href="https://twitter.com/steelers">@Steelers</a>. Jarvis Jones is No.2.</p>&mdash; Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobLabriola/statuses/395196607559266304">October 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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In a move that seems to be more of an effort to send a message to Jones, than to recognize Worilds for stellar play, the Steelers have demoted their top pick in the 2013 draft.

While Jones has failed to consistently carry over the game-changing potential from his preseason play to the regular season, Worilds has hardly been much better.

Worilds has one sack, compared to zero for Jones, though Jones has 15 tackles to Worilds 7 (albeit with more playing time to date).

With the exception of a handful of plays - including a crushing hit applied to Geno Smith that caused an interception - Jarvis Jones has looked like a rookie. While he clearly is an explosive player who is capable of living up to his draft pick, the game has not slowed down for him yet. There has been a lot of talk about the game slowing down for David DeCastro, but Steelers fans will have to continue to wait for Jones to turn the corner.

I suspect that, unless Worilds absolutely blows his last chance or gets injured, we won't see Jarvis Jones in the starting lineup again until the switch flips and the game slows down.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will address the media at noon ET, and likely will touch on this topic. Worilds and Jones had been sharing snaps for most of the time this season, but that changed against Oakland, when Jones, coming off a concussion that forced him out of the team's Week 7 win against Baltimore, saw far fewer snaps than usual.

Update: Dale Lolley makes an interesting point. Tomlin has been inconsistent with his "messages," and you have to wonder if they are doing more harm than good.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Tomlin defended L. Bell two weeks ago after bad game. J. Jones demoted to second team after bad game <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Steelers&amp;src=hash">#Steelers</a></p>&mdash; Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) <a href="https://twitter.com/dlolleyor/statuses/395208936271261696">October 29, 2013</a></blockquote>

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