Jacksonville Jaguars fans hopeful that the Joe Schobert trade with Pittsburgh would yield a player may be disappointed. It was reported on Thursday night while the Steelers were in action against the Philadelphia Eagles in the preseason that Jacksonville would be sending Schobert up north, and according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the compensation for the Jags will be an undisclosed late-round pick.
The #Steelers trade for #Jaguars LB Joe Schobert means Pittsburgh will send late-round draft compensation to Jax, source said. Schobert is due $7.3M this season, and fills a big need.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 13, 2021
Due to Pittsburgh’s depth at the tight end position and Jacksonville’s needs there, there was a thought that the Jags could attempt to acquire one of those tight ends for Schobert. However, it seems the intent of the trade from the Jags’ perspective was to simply offload a fairly expensive deal.
Schobert should be a much better fit with Pittsburgh, who runs a more traditional setup for its linebackers. Jacksonville values speed and athleticism a lot more, and the team likes what it has in Damien Wilson, an offseason addition from the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was a relatively disappointing 2020 season for Schobert, who was the Jaguars’ marquee free-agent signing last offseason, and it seems that the new staff is eager to move on from him.
Though the trade didn’t yield a potential starter at tight end like Eric Ebron or Zach Gentry, it does improve the cap situation even more for a Jaguars team that still leads the league in cap space.