The football X-and-O theories about why the Jacksonville Jaguars were willing to give former Pro Bowl linebacker Joe Schobert to the Steelers for a meager sixth-round draft choice have been well-discussed.
The premise is that new Jags general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Urban Meyer didn’t see Schobert as fit for defensive coordinator Joe Cullen’s scheme.
The reasoning advanced in some publications that I’ve read is that the organization didn’t feel as if Schobert was a good enough run support player next to fellow Jaguars inside linebacker Myles Jack and that there was too much roster redundancy there.
Essentially, Meyer and Cullen want former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Damien Wilson to be a run-stuffing hammer, while Jack patrols sideline-to-sideline. And they are more intrigued about the futures (and cost efficiency) of second-year linebacker Shaquille Quarterman and Alabama rookie Dylan Moses.
So, as a rebuilding franchise, Jacksonville deemed Schobert’s $7.35 million salary cap hit to be expendable. Hence, the willingness to part with him for so little after ousted Jags general manager Dave Caldwell signed the former Cleveland Browns standout to a $53.75 million contract just one year ago.
As Jamal St. Cyr of News4Jax pointed out on Tuesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, since the previous regime of Caldwell and ex-head coach Doug Marrone brought Schobert to Jacksonville, new management didn’t have any attachment to that investment.
“Joe Schobert wasn’t one of their guys,” St. Cyr said of Meyer and Baalke. “They didn’t bring him in. And they made it very clear that they wanted a very particular type of person. … They felt like Damien Wilson fit the defense and the locker room vibe a little bit better. So they figured while they could get something back, to go ahead and make that move.”
When I heard “particular type of person” and “locker room vibe,” I wondered what that meant. So I asked St. Cyr to expand.
“The idea that I’ve gotten from Joe Schobert is that he’s a very laid-back kind of guy,” St. Cyr said. “And Urban Meyer has talked a lot about wanting these competitive maniacs on his team. Every guy that they signed this offseason is a very competitive person. They are very energetic on the practice field. There is a completely different vibe for the guys that Urban Meyer and Trent Baalke brought in this offseason than what the previous regime brought in.
“Joe Schobert doesn’t have that overbearing energetic personality that is shared by all of the players that Urban Meyer has signed, and many of the ones he has drafted this offseason.”
Given the recent iterations of Steelers depth charts caked with trash talkers, TikTok-ers, Instagrammers, Tweeters and part-time rappers, the idea of acquiring a guy who simply goes about his business sounds just fine to me.
Unless, of course, what St. Cyr is trying to say is that Schobert is the kind of guy who dialed down his edge and enthusiasm once he got a big-money contract after leaving Cleveland for Jacksonville.
“No. Largely, I think the move just (was) he didn’t fit what Joe Cullen wanted to do on defense,” St. Cyr insisted. “Joe Schobert’s thing is that he gives people fits in the passing game. And Myles Jack is always going to be the Jaguars’ passing-game linebacker. They were looking for a thumper next to Myles Jack and a guy who was a little bit better at blitzing the quarterback.
“Those aren’t the strengths of Schobert’s game, and Damien Wilson is a little stronger in those areas than him.”
Also in Tuesday’s podcast, St. Cyr and I talk about how the money is being allocated in this trade, the progress of No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence so far at quarterback, and the comparisons between first-round draft choice Travis Etienne and fellow rookie running back Najee Harris of the Steelers.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
