Steelers Trade Former Starting Guard to Rams

The Steelers are trading guard Kevin Dotson to the Los Angeles Rams, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The terms of the deal are the following, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN: the deal includes pick swaps for each side. The Steelers will get the Rams’ 4th-round pick in 2024, while the Rams get the Steelers 2024 5th-round pick. In 2025, the Steelers will get the Rams’ 5th-round pick, while the Rams will get the Steelers’ 2025 6th-round pick.

Dotson is on the move after spending three seasons with the Steelers, including 30 starts since they drafted him in 2020. He missed the team’s final preseason game against the Falcons with a shoulder injury, and for the trade to go through, Dotson will have to pass a physical.

The injury is one that Dotson suffered back on August 8th at training camp. After the practice, Dotson was seen with a massive wrap around his right shoulder but did not miss time with it. Dotson played in two of the three preseason games before letting the injury rest and rehabbing it over the last week.

Pittsburgh drafted Dotson in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Dotson played phenomenally during his rookie season, as he made 13 appearances and recorded four starts while not allowing a single sack. He also played a significant role on a historic offensive line that allowed just 14 total sacks all season, the franchise’s lowest mark since 1982.

He had his second season cut short after just nine games of being a full-time starter and resumed his starting role last season with a season-ending ankle injury. After his level of play declined over the past two seasons, it seems his time as a Steeler is nearing its end. This offseason, the team signed Isaac Seumalo to a three-year, $24 million contract, and he is expected to take over the starting left guard position.

Dotson played a career-high 1,160 snaps last season and was rated as the Steelers third-best starting offensive lineman (65.4) and the best overall pass blocker (77.6) on the line by Pro Football Focus.