Trade Alert! The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly trading offensive guard Kevin Dotson to the Los Angeles Rams according to Ian Rapoport. Details have been released by ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / x: @JSKO_PHOTO)
It's no surprise that the team was willing to move on from Dotson for the right price. The front office didn't shy away from looking at the offensive guard position as a key area of improvement this offseason. The Steelers signed both Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig to the team in free agency. Seumalo was one of the most sought-after guards in the entire 2023 free agency class. Over the span of his seven-year career in the NFL, he has started 60 games (40 games at left guard, 19 at right guard, and one at right tackle).
Trade: The #Rams are trading for #Steelers guard Kevin Dotson, source said. Added OL depth for LA. pic.twitter.com/2zklFbnjD1
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 27, 2023
Earlier in the offseason, Dotson had said he wouldn't be mad if he had to continue his career playing somewhere else. On SteelerNation's own Three Point Stance podcast hosted by Kaleb Everhart and former Steelers offensive lineman, Dee Gray, they had the opportunity to speak with Dotson. Dotson spoke out on how he may not start due to the recent signing of Seumalo.
"It's a business." Dotson followed this by saying, "There is nothing you can do once they pay somebody. They give you the hope that there will be competition, but in the back of your mind, you know they are not paying someone $8 million a year to sit on the bench."
The deal for Dotson includes swapping drafts picks in both 2024 and 2025.
Steelers are trading OL Kevin Dotson to the Rams, sources tell ESPN.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 27, 2023
Trade also comes with picks swap.
Steelers and Rams swap 2024 4th and 5th. Steelers get the Rams' 4th; and Rams get the Steelers' 5th.
In 2025, Steelers get Rams' 5th rounder, and Rams get Steelers' 6th
Dotson was originally drafted by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana-Lafayette and was considered a promising young run blocker for Pittsburgh early in his career.
At just 26 years of age, he's started 30 of 39 games played so far. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 65.4 in 2022, as he was tied for 2nd in penalties in the league (12), giving up 4 total sacks (tied for 14th in the league).
Steelers save $2.75 million cap dollars by trading Dotson
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) August 27, 2023
We wish Dotson all the best in Los Angeles as the Steelers will now look to James Daniels, Seumalo, Herbig and possibly the rookie Spencer Anderson to hold down the guard positions moving forward. With the cut deadline for the regular season approaching on Tuesday, we'll know exactly how the Steelers roster will be finalized heading into Week 1 soon.
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