Thursday night during the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles game, rumors swirled around Twitter of Jacksonville Jaguars trading linebacker Joe Schobert to the Steelers. At that time, that is all we knew.
Those rumors became more substantial with more insiders checking into the situation and finding a deal was imminent between Schobert and the Steelers. Throughout all the speculation and reporting, no one knew what the Steelers gave up to obtain Schobert.
There were rumors of the Jaguars paying some of Schobert’s $7.3 million dollar salary in 2021, while others spoke specifically of late round draft picks.
Now, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Steelers will be sending a 6th round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to the Jaguars for Schobert’s services.
The move has yet to be made official, but at this point it is merely semantics. However, it is worth noting this is the second 2022 draft pick the Steelers have traded prior to the 2021 season. The team traded a 2022 4th round pick to the Miami Dolphins to trade into the 5th round of the 2021 NFL Draft and drafted Isaiahh Loudermilk out of Wisconsin.
Nonetheless, with Schobert heading to Pittsburgh, the inside linebacker depth becomes much deeper, and more versatile. Schobert is known not just for his volume tackling, but his coverage ability. Steelers fans might remember Schobert vs. the Steelers in November of 2019 on Thursday Night Football when he terrorized the Steelers’ offense.
That is in the past, and it now seems as if Schobert is on his way to Pittsburgh. Will Schobert and Devin Bush make up one dynamic duo at inside linebacker, or will the Steelers utilize Schobert differently?
Only time will tell…
Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers as they prepare for the 2021 regular season.