After losing projected starter Jonas Griffith to an elbow injury, the Denver Broncos signed veteran Joe Schobert to add more depth at linebacker.
Schobert, 28, is a seventh-player player who spent time with three other teams before joining the Broncos. The one-time Pro Bowler has 80 career starts on his resume, and that experience could help him quickly jump into Denver’s defense.
“Schobert is a guy that is another experienced guy that we know we can put in there and he can play right away,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said Monday. “He can bring that leadership. I think he’s had a lot of years with hundreds of tackles. I think that’s always a positive thing. As somebody that has played special teams and done a lot of different things, I think he’s going to definitely help us throughout that.”
Schobert has topped 100 tackles in each of the last five seasons. He’ll likely compete with Alex Singleton to start next to Josey Jewell until Griffith returns. He’ll have to quickly learn the Broncos’ defense, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
“This will be my seventh different defensive scheme in seven years,” Schobert said. “It’s much to think about, but I’ve been pretty much on every single scheme you can have in the NFL. I’ve played with a lot of good guys and a lot of good defenses. I just want to bring experience and help the room grow.”
In addition to 661 tackles, Schobert arrives in Denver with 30 pass breakups, 26 quarterback hits, 11 sacks, 10 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles on his resume. Those are impressive totals, and he’ll aim to build on them with the Broncos this season.
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