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PITTSBURGH – When Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke told Joe Schobert he needed to talk to him after the last team reunion on Thursday, the veteran inside linebacker knew something was wrong.
But Schobert hardly expected Baalke to tell him next.
The Jaguars traded Schobert, a free agent who signed last year, to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a sixth-round pick.
“I think it came out of nowhere, from my perspective,” Schobert said Sunday in his first interview since the exchange. “Nothing really, no warning signs or predetermined stuff. I was talking to the defensive coaches right after I spoke to the GM, and they were pretty shocked about it.
“… It’s stressful, especially in the middle of training camp. I have a wife, a child, a dog. A house in Jacksonville; I had to figure out the logistics to move them. I wouldn’t say that I was sad, non – – stressful. A little shock to the system. “
Baalke told Schobert, 27, that the Steelers called 12 hours earlier and were “persistent” about acquiring the inside linebacker from the Pro Bowl.
“I wouldn’t put you in it if it wasn’t a good situation for you and your family, coming to Pittsburgh, good team,” Schobert told Baalke. “That’s what I was told.”
Mike Tomlin presented a slightly different version of the exchange when he discussed it on Saturday.
“It happened to us, but it didn’t take long for us to consider it as we know his skills and productivity very well,” Tomlin said of the trade.
“We’re so excited to have him. Productivity, when I think of Joe. He doesn’t need any approval from me. We know him. Former AFC North guy, has been very productive under all circumstances. in which he has been.
“He’s a line-to-line tackle, he’s good at covering, he has cover production in terms of interceptions, he has sack production. He’s playing a well-balanced game so we’re delighted with the. integrate into what we do. “
Schobert, who spent four years in Cleveland and suffered seven forced fumbles and six interceptions, had divided the first-team reps with former Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Damien Wilson, acquired in April, from linebacker in the midfielder under new defensive coordinator Joe Cullen’s 3-4 in defense.
Schobert took part in team meetings on Saturday and joined the Steelers for training camp practice at Heinz Field for the first time on Sunday. He was immediately inserted into the first team, often taking reps alongside Devin Bush during the team period. Schobert has been used to dimeback and has also stated that he expects to play the Mac backer. He said the plan is for him to wear the green dot helmet as a defensive signalman at the start of the regular season.
“This will be my sixth program in a six-year apprenticeship,” said Schobert, who added that the Steelers’ program is the most similar to the one he was in during his rookie year at Cleveland. “I’ve done a lot of similar things. The biggest difference is mainly the jargon, the language of defense, getting on par with everyone and communicating with them on the pitch.”
With Schobert and Bush playing together in the first team, Robert Spillane and Buddy Johnson took on the second team representatives.
Schobert is hoping to be comfortable enough on defense to play in the Steelers’ third preseason game on Saturday against the Detroit Lions.
“I don’t know how many reps I will have before I feel good, before I am 100% comfortable making all the calls and communicating with everyone in defense,” he said. . “But I think it’s going to be a pretty smooth and fairly easy process, especially with all the veterans.”
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