Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker L.J. Fort is officially moving on with life’s work. In an Instagram post Thursday, Fort reflected on his 10-year career, thanking teams, coaches, teammates, and friends for their support while sharing a collage of photos of his playing days.
“I didn’t get picked up until Thursday after the draft, preparing to start another career. All I needed was an opportunity and I’m forever thankful to the ones who gave me just that! Never could have imagined 10 years in the game!
Thank you to all my family, friends, teammates, agent, trainers, staff, and organizations who helped me turn my childhood dream into a reality! It doesn’t matter how you start, ignore the circumstances and get to work!”
Several former Steelers teammates commented on his post. LB Tyler Matakevich, S Will Allen, S Jordan Dangerfield, and FB Roosevelt Nix all replied.
Fort, now 35, spent the 2015-2018 seasons with the Steelers. He appeared in 44 games with two starts, recording 63 tackles, four pass breakups, and two sacks. Athletic and effective when given opportunities, Pittsburgh curiously turned to other options following Ryan Shazier’s career-ending spinal injury in 2017. Instead of turning to Fort, the Steelers moved EDGE Arthur Moats to inside linebacker and signed Sean Spence for the team’s stretch run.
Fort would stick with the team in 2018 and make his lone two starts with Pittsburgh, getting the nod in Week 14 against the Oakland Raiders and the season finale versus the Cincinnati Bengals. He finished the season with 48 tackles (three for a loss) and one sack.
Undrafted out of Northern Iowa in 2012, L.J. Fort first signed with the Cleveland Browns. He appeared in all 16 games as a rookie but struggled to see the field the next several years, only appearing in one game over the next three seasons.
After gaining traction with Pittsburgh, Fort signed a three-year, $5.5 million deal with the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles. But he was released one month into the contract. Scooped up by the Baltimore Ravens, he started eight games over the rest of 2019 and another eight in 2020. He tore his ACL in the summer of 2021 and was placed on injured reserve, effectively ending his career.
Fort finished his NFL career with 173 tackles (12 for a loss) with 10 pass breakups, five sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception across 91 games and 19 starts.
In 2024, he was named linebackers coach at Melissa High School in Texas.
