Pittsburgh Steelers cut former Wisconsin star following Myles Jack acquisition
After signing former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack to a $16 million deal on Wednesday, the Steelers opted to cut linebacker Joe Schobert on Thursday. The move frees up $7.8 million in cap space, according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.
Pittsburgh acquired Schobert just seven months ago from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Cleveland Browns picked the Wisconsin product No. 99 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. Spent five seasons in Cleveland before heading to Florida. His initial deal with the Jags was for five years, $53.7 million.
Joe Schobert played at Wisconsin from 2012-2015. From 2013-2015, Schobert played in 40 games, totaling 172 total tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, including 9.5 in 2015 and seven forced fumbles. In his final season in Madison, Schobert received First-team All-American and First-team All-Big Ten honors. He also received Big Ten Linebacker of the Year honors.
This season for Pittsburgh, the 28-year-old inside linebacker had 112 total tackles, 70 solo, a forced fumble and an interception.
Steelers sign former Jaguars star linebacker
The Pittsburgh Steelers are making a splash in free agency as the new league year gets started.
Pittsburgh reportedly signed former Jacksonville Jaguars star linebacker Myles Jack to a two-year, $16 million deal, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Jacksonville released Jack earlier this week, and it apparently didn’t take long for him to find a new home.
The Jaguars drafted Jack out of UCLA with the No. 36 overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. This past season, he had 108 total tackles — including 62 solo tackles. But in his career, he has 513 combined tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 17 quarterback hits, 6.5 sacks, three interceptions, 15 passes defended, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and two defensive touchdowns.
He now gets the chance to bounce back in Pittsburgh as general manager Kevin Colbert adds pieces before stepping away after the NFL Draft. The Steelers also signed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky as the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger.
On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.