Broncos looking for ILB help, former Pro Bowler visits
Jul 30, 2022, 7:09 PM
Could the Broncos be seeking for more depth at inside linebacker?
It appears that way. According to the NFL transaction wire, seven-year veteran linebacker Joe Schobert visited the Broncos. Pro Football Talk first reported the news Saturday afternoon.
Schobert, who made the Pro Bowl after the 2017 season, lingered on the market this year after a single season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh acquired him from the Jacksonville Jaguars last year for a sixth-round choice.
He played in Cleveland from 2016-19. His first campaign as a full-time starter came in 2017, and ended with a Pro Bowl selection after he notched a league-leading 144 tackles. He also added 6 quarterback hits and 3.0 sacks, although his use as a pass-rusher dropped in recent years.
Pittsburgh cut Schobert earlier this year to save $7.8 million on the salary cap.
Schobert logged 112 tackles for Pittsburgh last year. He finished with his best missed-tackle rate since at least 2018 — just 7.4 percent, per the data compiled by SportRadar.com. But he finished the year without a sack for the first time in his career. Pro Football Focus also gave him a 53.5 grade, the lowest season-long figure of his career.
As for the Broncos, they appeared content with what they had at inside linebacker. They kept Josey Jewell in the offseason and chose not to re-sign free agents Kenny Young and Alexander Johnson. They moved Baron Browning to outside linebacker and plugged Jonas Griffith into the starting lineup.
Jewell and Griffithhandled first-team work in the first four days of training camp. So far, both look solid, with Griffith creating an end-zone takeaway on Day 1 of training camp by poking the football out of Jerry Jeudy’s grasp. That led to a diving interception by Justin Simmons.
Behind them, the Broncos have two players with starting experience: Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad. Singleton led the Philadelphia Eagles in tackles in each of the last two seasons. But Strnad struggled in his work as a starter last year and got benched after five starts.
Now, the Broncos might be looking for a bit more fortification.
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