Denied thus far in their attempts to move on from wide receiver Antonio Brown, the Steelers did make another move Friday for one of their veteran starters.
Longtime right tackle Marcus Gilbert was traded to the Cardinals for a sixth-round pick, just hours after tweeting he was ready for a new chapter.
Gilbert, 31, fell out of the team's plans Thursday when guard Ramon Foster was re-signed to a two-year deal. Prior to that, sources say the Steelers had been telling the 2011 second-round draft pick he remained part of their plans for 2019.
Perhaps the Steelers' best run-blocking lineman, Gilbert has been beset by injuries the past three seasons, missing 19 games because of various leg ailments. He also missed four games in 2017 while serving a four-game suspension for PED use.
He played in just five games in 2018, with Matt Feiler making 10 starts and rookie Chuks Okorafor one in his place. Gilbert started 88 of the 89 games in which he has appeared since 2011, when he won the team's rookie of the year award.
The Cardinals were rocked by injuries on their offensive line in 2018, making life rough on rookie quarterback Josh Rosen. The two teams had been in negotiations for Brown before the Cardinals dropped out earlier in the week.
The addition of the sixth-round draft pick gives the Steelers three picks in that round and eight overall in the 2019 draft. The Steelers have the second pick in the round (175th, acquired from Oakland as part of the deal for receiver Ryan Switzer) and their own selection at pick 192 and now Arizona's compensatory pick in the sixth (207).
Arizona will take on Gilbert's remaining $4.9 million in salary in 2019, the final year of a 5-year, $30.8-million deal, while the Steelers will be responsible for a $1.7-million cap hit, clearing $4.9 million in cap space.
Gilbert, like Brown, is represented by agent Drew Rosenhaus.
LOLLEY'S VIEW
This is a good move for both teams -- and Gilbert.
The Steelers get a draft pick in return for a player no longer in their plans. The Cardinals get a high-caliber right tackle at a good price and don't have to bid for his services on the open market.
Gilbert, meanwhile, gets an opportunity to show he can stay healthy and perhaps earn another big contract since Arizona has a big need there and he'll still have some tread left on his tires, if he can show he can stay healthy in 2019. He's also reunited with former Steelers offensive line coach Sean Kugler, who serves in the same capacity now with the Cardinals. Kugler was Gilbert's coach when he was drafted in 2011.
But a source also told me Gilbert's camp was being told the offensive tackle was still in the team's plans as of two days ago. That leads me to believe either Maurkice Pouncey, Ben Roethlisberger or both went to management and made a plea for the team to keep Foster, a move that came at the expense of Gilbert.
That would be interesting since Pouncey and Gilbert are longtime friends, having played together at Florida.
