Marcus Gilbert, almost 10 years to the day after he was selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, announced his retirement from the NFL.
The veteran offensive tackle spent his first eight seasons with the Steelers before being traded to the Cardinals during the 2019 offseason. An injury in 2019 and the decision to opt out of the 2020 season led to Gilbert never taking a regular snap during his time in Arizona.
"I would like to send a special thank you to the Rooney family, Coach Tomlin, Coach Kugler and Kevin Colbert for drafting me in 2011 and giving me the opportunity to live my dream and play for the Pittsburgh Steelers for eight yeas, cheered on by the support of the best fans in the National Football League," Gilbert wrote in his retirement announcement. "Although my tenure with the Arizona Cardinals was short, I cherished my time in the Grand Canyon State. I wish Coach Kingsbury and the Arizona Cardinals best of luck this season."
A member of Florida's 2008 national championship team, Gilbert was taken by the Steelers with the 63rd overall pick in the 2011 draft. As a rookie, Gilbert saw 13 starts while helping Pittsburgh win 12 regular-season games. Gilbert won the Joe Greene Great Performance Award, the award annually given to the Steelers' most outstanding rookie performer.
Gilbert remained in the starting lineup throughout the duration of his time with the Steelers. During that span, Pittsburgh won three AFC North division titles. They also made the playoffs five times that included a trip to the AFC title game in 2016. Among Gilbert's highlights in Pittsburgh included his success against Von Miller during the Steelers' two games against the eventual champion Broncos during the 2015 season.
Gilbert was an integral part of a Pittsburgh offensive line that also included left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, left guard Ramon Foster, center (and college teammate) Maurkice Pouncey, and right guard David DeCastro. Together, the unit helped Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown blossom into arguably the NFL's most productive offensive trio during the mid-to-late 2010s.
But after an injury-plagued 2018 season, Gilbert was shipped to Arizona in 2019 in exchange for a compensatory sixth-round pick. A knee injury landed him on injured reserve for the duration of the 2019 season. Gilbert then chose to opt out prior to the start of the 2020 season.
