Marcus Gilbert informs the Arizona Cardinals he’s retiring

Two years have now passed since the Arizona Cardinals landed an experienced veteran to shore up the right tackle position. Marcus Gilbert, a longtime starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was brought to the desert back in 2019 for a compensatory sixth-round draft pick. The Cards were thrilled to land such an established offensive lineman, but the good vibes surrounding the acquisition would be short-lived.

This past Monday, Gilbert announced his retirement, 10 years after he began his NFL career. Arizona fans barely knew the 6’6, 330 pounder, due to the fact that he never played a regular-season down for the team. Since months after joining the Cardinals, Gilbert suffered a torn ACL that would sideline him for the entire 2019 campaign.

Feeling like they got the short end of the stick in the trade for Gilbert, the Cards elected to re-sign the free agent to a one-year contract the following offseason. Unfortunately, the organization’s rotten luck with the player continued when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Gilbert to opt out of the 2020 season. Arizona was left with a hole at the right tackle spot once again, but were lucky enough to reach an agreement with the capable Kelvin Beachum just prior to the start of last summer’s training camp.

Gilbert is walking away from a professional career that began back in 2011 with the Steelers. The University of Florida product was a second-round selection of the franchise, the 63rd-overall choice of that offseason’s draft. Gilbert appeared in 52 games as a college athlete, and was credited with 30 starts for the Gators.

The 33-year old Gilbert spent eight campaigns with Pittsburgh before he was dealt to the Cardinals. The Florida native logged 87 starts for the “Black and Gold”, but suffered an assortment of injuries over the years that caused him to miss an ample amount of playing time.

Gilbert’s retirement will not affect the Cards in the least. Beachum remains at the top of the squad’s depth chart after he was inked to a two-year contract last month. The Redbirds have solid backups at right tackle as well, with both Justin Murray and Josh Jones waiting in the wings.