All 90 is a Pittsburgh Steelers Now series profiling each of the 90 members of the Steelers 2021 offseason roster.
17 • Mark Gilbert, rookie cornerback
6-foot, 175 pounds
Acquired: The Steelers signed Gilbert as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2021.
College: Gilbert made 20 starts over five injury-filled seasons at Duke. He was a freshman All-American and made three starts in his first season with the Blue Devils in 2016 and broke out as an All-American and first-team All-ACC choice while starting all 13 games in 2017. That season, he made 35 tackles, had six interceptions and tied a Dike single-season record with 15 passes broken up.
But Gilbert suffered a season-ending left hip injury after playing in just two games in 2018, and that surgery caused him to miss the entire 2019 season. In 2020, he played in two games before requiring season-ending surgery on a bone fragment in his foot.
Camp outlook: Between Gilbert and fellow undrafted free agent Shakur Brown, the Steelers have two rookie undrafted cornerbacks that could make immediate impacts on the 2021 team.
Those two are battling fellow rookie Tre Norwood and free agents DeMarkus Acy, Stephen Denmark and Arthur Maulet for playing time in the slot vacated by the loss of Mike Hilton and Cam Sutton moving outside.
The Steelers will have at least two of those players on the active roster this season and could stash more on the practice squad with so much uncertainty at the position.
Future: Gilbert has a three-year rookie contract. He will be a restricted free agent after the 2023 season.
The rest of the 90:
