The Pittsburgh Steelers regularly get reminded that it was a good decision not to re-sign left tackle Dan Moore Jr. in NFL free agency a year and a half ago. The Steelers received another reminder in a viral video during Week 5.
While facing the Houston Texans on Sunday, Moore was protecting quarterback Cam Ward’s blindside as he has since the signal-caller’s first game last year. But on one particular play in Week 5, Moore completely missed a Texans defender blitzing from Ward’s left.
The defender went untouched. He wasn’t able to bring down Ward for a sack on initial contact, but he laid a hit on the Titans franchise quarterback.
A Titans fan posted a replay of the incident from two different angles, one of which was in slow motion, on X on Sunday. The video clip received more than 2 million views in under 24 hours.
Moore spent his first four seasons with the Steelers, starting 66 games at left tackle. He signed a 4-year, $82 million contract to join the Titans in NFL free agency in March 2025. The deal included $50 million guaranteed.
With the total value of Moore’s contract, he still has the eighth-highest contract at left tackle in the NFL according to Spotrac.
Former Steelers Dan Moore Jr. Completely Misses Texans Defender While Playing for Titans
From Moore’s perspective, it might be worse to see a defender and completely whiff on a block or get beat. But the way the Titans fan edited the video clip made for a pretty embarrassing moment for Moore.
It’s hard to understand exactly where he was looking when he didn’t see the Texans blitzer coming toward his edge. From the end zone angle, it appears Moore is actually shuffling away from the defender on purpose.
Obviously, that’s probably not what actually happened. Still, social media users had fun at Moore’s expense after the play Sunday.
“I like the footwork though,” OregonLive.com’s Aaron J. Fentress wrote in jest.
“Every time someone asks what’s wrong with Cam [Ward], show this video,” added a Hurricanes fan.
“Quarterback was supposed to pick him up,” wrote a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
The Steelers drafted Moore in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. With no better options to play left tackle, Moore started immediately as a rookie.
Moore remained at left tackle for four years despite the Steelers drafting Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu in the first round. That’s because Moore was allegedly significantly worse at right tackle than the left side.
In 2025, the Steelers moved on with Jones as their starting left tackle when Moore left in free agency. Unfortunately, Jones didn’t work out for the Steelers on the blindside either. But the Steelers avoided overpaying to keep Moore at left tackle.
With the Titans, Moore has started 21 games over the past two seasons. It’s obviously not entirely Moore’s fault, but Tennessee has gone 3-18 in those games.
Moore has two years remaining on his contract with the Titans.
Former Steelers’ Dan Moore Jr. Goes Viral for Major Blunder During Week 5