Arizona Cardinals OT Marcus Gilbert announces retirement
Apr 26, 2021, 11:21 AM
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) is helped up by offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (76) after being sacked for a safety against the Oakland Raiders during the first half of an an NFL football game, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert announced his retirement on Monday.
Gilbert never appeared for Arizona in a regular season game after the team traded a sixth-round pick for him in March 2019. Gilbert put together a strong training camp before tearing his ACL just before the start of the 2019 season and, after re-signing, opted out of last year due to health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Even before that, Gilbert had struggled to stay healthy, having appeared in a combined 12 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017 and 2018 before the Cardinals traded for him, expecting him to become the starting right tackle.
The 33-year-old Gilbert was a second-round pick of the Steelers in 2011 and went on to appear in 88 games with 87 starts through the 2018 campaign.
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Gilbert thanked his former Steelers coaches and the ownership group led by the Rooney family in a letter announcing his decision to retire.
He also thanked current Arizona offensive line coach Sean Kugler, who coached him in Pittsburgh, as well as the Cardinals and head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Thank you for all of the support over the years. I can’t wait to share my next chapter of life with you all. pic.twitter.com/JjCQ4xGwgE
— Marcus Gilbert (@MarcusGilbert88) April 26, 2021
The Cardinals appeared set for Gilbert to sit out the 2021 season.
They re-signed 2020 starting right tackle Kelvin Beachum to play opposite left tackle D.J. Humphries and have 2020 pick Josh Jones among the young players in waiting.
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