Arthur Moats was an awesome person in the locker room and in the community for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the city as a whole during his stay with the team from 2014 through the 2017 season. During that four-year span, he played in 62 games, recording 25 starts, putting up 83 tackles with 11 and a half sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
While he was a bit underappreciated for what he did on the field, nobody really denied what he brought to the team as a person, which is one of the reasons that he was so easily and readily welcomed back to participate in the weekend’s Friday Night Lights training camp practice in order to hold a retirement ceremony from the game.
“I definitely loved Buffalo, loved the fans up there”, he told the team’s website. Moats was a sixth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2010 and spent his first four seasons there. “But I feel like I grew up a lot more when I came here. I felt like it was only right to close the chapter here”.
After he was not re-signed by the Steelers following the 2017 season, Moats signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals, the franchise that all former Steelers go after the team moves on from them. But the veteran suffered a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve, and he was released with an injury settlement in October.
Even while recovering from a knee injury, however, that did not stop him from contributing to the Pittsburgh community. In late October, he participated in the Steelers’ youth football initiative. Other players such as JuJu Smith-Schuster and Joshua Dobbs also got involved during the year. As far as I’m aware, Moats was the only one not on the roster to participate.
The way that he was embraced by both the organization and the city led the Moats’ to reach the decision to make the Pittsburgh area their home, where they will raise their family. Frankly, that’s a common story among free agents who sign here.
“You can’t overlook the fans here. I feel like ‘Steeler Nation’ is literally the best ever”, Moats told the team’s website. “You go around the country, out of the country, you run into the fan base. And it’s just an awesome feeling that they always know who you are. So for me it felt like it’s the right thing to do”.
The team is trying to do him justice by fielding a strong outside linebacker group this year, headed by T.J. Watt, who reached the Pro Bowl in his second season last year. Bud Dupree, the other starter, as well as Anthony Chickillo, Olasunkanmi Adeniyi, and possibly one of Sutton Smith, Tuzar Skipper, and J.T. Jones, will round out the group come September.
