Jaguars trade K Josh Scobee to Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers added another kicker to the mix, landing long-time Jacksonville Jaguar JOsh Scobee via trade.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded their longtime kicker Josh Scobee to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com was the first to report the deal and Scobee confirmed this on Jacksonville radio station 1010 XL Monday morning.

The #Jaguars are trading longtime kicker Josh Scobee to the #Steelers. He’s been their kicker since 2004. Pitt had a K injury.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2015

Josh Scobee is the all-time leader scorer in Jacksonville Jaguars history with 1,022 career points and 235 field goals in his 11 seasons as the Jags kicker.

The Steelers were in dire need of a place kicker after starter Shaun Suisham tore his ACL in the preseason opener, ironically against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Suisham’s replacement Garrett Hartley suffered a hamstring injury a week later against the Buffalo Bills.

Josh Scobee has hit some very difficult kicks in his Jaguars career, including a franchise-record 59-yarder to beat division rival Indianapolis Colts back in 2010. Jacksonville is not an easy place to kick as the flags tend to blow in the opposite direction of where the ball will go. Scobee should thrive kicking for a more competitive franchise like the Pittsburgh Steelers in the winter’s harsh weather in Western Pennsylvania.

The Jaguars will go with a four-year letterman from Marist College Jason Myers as their new place kicker. Myers has never appeared in an NFL game before, spending most of his time in the Arena Football League.

For a franchise like Jacksonville who once used the franchise tag on Josh Scobee to keep him in the River City, it’s tough for the Jags to see their longest tenured player leave prior to the start of the 2015 NFL Season.

Though Scobee is not likely a long-term solution at kicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, his 11 year NFL experience should allow Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin to have some confidence when having to settle for field goals with both Suisham indefinitely and Hartley out for the foreseeable future.

It’s interesting to see two former AFC Central rivals making a deal like this prior to Week 4. From Jacksonville’s inception in 1995, the Jaguars fielded a very competitive team and were in the playoff mix with Pittsburgh in the Central prior to the NFL’s realignment in 2002 when the Houston Texans joined the league, initiating the move to 8 divisions of 4 teams.

For now, Pittsburgh has a NFL caliber kicker as the Steelers hope to stay in the AFC Playoff race, while Jacksonville may feel that Myers gives them more bang for their buck as the Jags try to come out of the catacombs to relevancy in 2015.

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