With their first preseason game on the horizon, the Jacksonville Jaguars have once again tested their hands in the trade market. The team will be sending veteran interior linebacker Joe Schobert to a rival of theirs in the Pittsburgh Steelers.
USA Today Sports Media Group senior editor Neal Coolong reported the news this evening, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero later confirmed it. However, the compensation is unknown at the time.
Source tells me #Steelers and #Jaguars are close to a deal trading LB Joe Schobert to Pittsburgh. @meganschobert strongly hinting at it too.
— Neal Coolong (@NealCoolong) August 12, 2021
The #Jaguars have agreed to trade veteran LB Joe Schobert to the #Steelers, source said.
First on the story: @meganschobert, who probably has pretty good sources herself.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 12, 2021
This move makes a lot of sense for both teams as the Steelers are familiar with Schobert, who once played for their division rivals in the Cleveland Browns from 2016-19. They also are a team deep at tight end, where the Jags need help, with Eric Ebron, Pat Freiermuth, and Zach Gentry at the top of their depth chart. That said, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Jags add a player not named Freiermuth (who the Steelers just drafted this year) at the position.
As for the Jags, they have good depth at the interior linebacker position and could be fine with starting Myles Jack and Damien Wilson this season.
Schobert joined the Jags last season during the early stages of free agency. He started in all 16 games for them but got off to a slow start in terms of finding his footing. However, later in the season, he started to find a rhythm, but Wilson seems to be having a better camp than the former Wisconsin Badger.
Schobert will enter his career with the Steelers with 526 total tackles (313 solo), 11 sacks, 24 pass breakups, and nine picks. As a Jag, he was able to accumulate 132 total tackles (75 solo), 2,5 sacks, four pass breakups, and three picks.