Although they can’t make it official until Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will sign Mitchell Trubisky to a two year contract. Trubisky joins a quarterback room with Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins and will challenge Mason Rudolph for the starting quarterback position this summer at St. Vincents.
The Chicago Bears made Mitch Trubisky the 2nd overall pick during the 2017 NFL Draft. Trubisky started 50 games for the Bears and appeared in 51. Mitchell Trubisky’s record as a starter is 29-21 in the regular season and 0-2 in the playoff losses to the Eagles (2018) and the Saints (2020.)
According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, Mitch Trubisky’s 2 year contract with the Steelers is valued at 14 million dollars but can climb to 27 million based on incentives.
The Steelers have signed Mitch Trubisky to a 2 year deal. Photo Credit: AAdrian Kraus, AP, via NJ.com
Trubisky Time! …We’ll See
With a contract that averages nearly 7 million a year, Mitchell Trubisky is making almost twice as much as Mason Rudolph. While that doesn’t assure him a starting job, it clearly indicates where the Steelers are leaning.
- The question is, this the right decision?
Looking at the numbers, Mitch Trubisky has authored a respectable career, albeit, one that fails to live up to his draft status.
Overall, Trubisky boasts a career completion rate of 64.1% which is a hair below Ben Roethlisberger’s 64.4%. He’s also got a 64 touchdown passes to 37 interceptions, giving him a pick rate of 2.4% which is a hair below Roethlisberger’s 2.5% His career passer rating is 87, which is a full 5 points below Big Ben’s.
And numbers can be deceiving – Walter Abercrombie has a higher yards-per-carry average than Jerome Bettis – Anyone prefer him to The Bus? Last year, the Bears opted not to pick up his fifth year option, and Trubisky couldn’t get a wiff of a starting job, instead spent 2021 backing up Josh Allen for the Buffalo Bills.
Mitchell Trubisky does offer the Steelers mobility, and in that sense is a better fit for Matt Canada’s offense.
Trubisky, the Latest First Round Pick to Get a 2nd Chance in Pittsburgh
Mitch Trubisky’s arrival all but rules out the Steelers using a first round pick on Kenny Pickett, Matt Corral, Malik Willis or any of the other QB prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft.
If the Steelers don’t often draft a quarterback in the first round, having only done it 3 times since the Nixon Administration, they’ve given several former first rounder’s a 2nd chance, with mixed results.
Dwayne Haskins is one of those, and he’s still writing his story. Paxton Lynch was another, but he wrote footnote instead of a story.
- Perhaps the most instructive stories come from Tommy Maddox and Todd Blackledge.
Fresh off of XFL glory, Steelers took a flyer Tommy Maddox in 2001. He was only ever supposed to be a backup, but Tommy Gun unseating team MVP Kordell Stewart was the story of the Steelers 2002 season.
Bubby Brister cerca 1988. Photo Credit: Brian Smale, SI Vault.com
Back in 1988, the Steelers traded for Todd Blackledge whom Kansas City had taken 20 slots ahead of Dan Marino the 1983 NFL Draft.
Unlike Maddox, the Steelers brought in Blackledge to compete with Bubby Brister. Yet, Bubby started training camp proclaiming, “I’m your man!” Brister not only claimed the starting job, but when he got injured that year, Steve Bono pushed Todd Blackledge playing time, and by mid-1989, Rick Strom had relegated Blacklege to the 3rd string.
- So what’s the moral of these men’s stories?
Mitch Trubisky would be wise to take nothing for granted.
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