Will Mitch Trubisky be a starter, or backup, with the Steelers?
From the time that Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement, anyone with an opinion was trying to place a new name in the spot of a legend. From Aaron Rodgers to Marcus Mariota to Malik Willis, nearly every name was dropped into the Steelers starting quarterback position over the course of early 2022.
After Rodgers stayed with Green Bay, Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos, and Deshaun Watson convinced Cleveland to make a move, the next best option – before the NFL Draft – was Mitchell Trubisky.
A topic I’ve struggled with all offseason is if Mitchell Trubisky is the answer for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I wasn’t convinced he was the answer or if the Steelers had interest, but that would be answered as soon as the legal tampering period for this year’s free agency began. Admittedly, none of the free agent quarterbacks were appealing, but I had the hardest time shooting holes in Trubisky’s game.
For starters, someone like Jameis Winston is a turnover machine, having the distinction of being the only passer in NFL history to throw for over 30 touchdowns and interceptions in the same season.
Marcus Mariota? Let’s just say the Raiders wouldn’t allow him to attempt many passes as a gadget player backing up Derek Carr. Jimmy Garoppolo was yet another trade target with a larger contract and lukewarm play that I preferred the Steelers avoid.
That leaves Trubisky, who I said was harder to shoot holes in his performances than the others. However, that doesn’t mean he’s been walking on water as a prize free agent quarterback that everyone was yearning after.
First the positives: yes, we know that he led the Chicago Bears to two playoff appearances. He also made a Pro Bowl, as an alternate for Super Bowl bound Jared Goff.
Trubisky’s proponents will tout those accolades but also claim he was held back on a “bad team” with “bad coaching”.
Apparently, the second overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft did all of this on his own. Not with a WR1 like Allen Robinson, a thousand-yard rusher Jordan Howard, or a great receiving back, Tarik Cohen. No attempts were made ever made to place talent around him with higher draft picks like Kevin White or Anthony Miller or support him with free agent veterans like Trey Burton or Taylor Gabriel.
And clearly Trubisky didn’t benefit from the league’s best defense in one of those seasons…
Yes, that’s all sarcasm, as those components came together for the success that was there. Of course, the Steelers saw a veteran quarterback with 50 starts, who could be a ”game manager” with a great defense in Pittsburgh as he did before in the Windy City.
Oddly, no one else saw this as an option one season earlier, where Trubisky had little interest from 31 other teams and found himself backing up Josh Allen in Buffalo.
After sitting for a full season, he’s to come back and play at a high level – some feel an even higher level than he had in Chicago, where he topped out at 24 touchdown passes as his single-season high. (Note: 6 of those passes came in a route of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.)
This may sound like I’m hating on Trubisky, but it’s not. Instead, I’ve seen a baffling amount of hype by fans who are always intrigued by discarded players who can immediately become superstars when their surroundings change – and that change always seems to be with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.
Similarly, the same fans believe last year’s backup quarterback, Mason Rudolph, isn’t any good. Yet, the Steelers should be able to trade a “not good” player for “good” draft picks. Mitch falls into the same category of middling in his previous experience, but now he’ll ascend to the pinnacle of NFL quarterbacks.
So, which is it? I’m fair enough to believe it could be either case.
Trubisky has had some odd ebbs and flows to his career path. In his four seasons with the Bears, he had 46 games where he attempted 20 or more passes. In those appearances, he threw for one touchdown – or none – in 29 games.
His touchdown-to-interception ratio in those games is an inconsistent 15:24.
In those other 17 games the numbers improve to 47:13, showcasing the hot/cold nature of Mitch’s time in Chicago.
If we skew his career stats out to 25 or more attempts per game, we arrive at 40 games instead with 23 of those where Trubisky failed to throw more than a single touchdown pass, and 11, about half, where he didn’t throw one at all.
His career-best six touchdown game was accomplished with only 26 attempts against the Bucs.
Also, Trubisky has only thrown for 300 or more yards in seven career games too.
The stats show that he’s likely more than capable of leading a team, with a 100+ quarterback rating in 14 of those 46 games, further leaving enough hesitation in either camp that wants to call him a starter or a backup.
The situation reminds me a lot of other Steelers veteran backups, such as Charlie Batch or Byron Leftwich.
Batch arrived in Pittsburgh in 2002, two seasons before Ben Roethlisberger was drafted. He joined Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox, as the Steelers sought some stability for the starting quarterback position. However, his numbers are more middling as the 60th overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft, starting for four seasons with the Detroit Lions.
- Batch would accumulate 9016 passing yards with 49 TDs and 40 INTs for a 19-27 starting record.
Byron Leftwich is a better comparison, having started four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and another, as a backup with the Atlanta Falcons, before landing in Pittsburgh as a veteran presence behind Big Ben.
- Leftwich was 24-20 with the Jaguars, throwing for 9042 yards, 51 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.
- Trubisky was 29-21 with the Bears, throwing for 10,609 yards, 64 touchdowns and 37 interceptions.
That still doesn’t settle the issue of whether Trubisky should still be a starter for the Steelers. Kenny Pickett was obviously drafted in the first round to be the team’s future at the position. Barring any setbacks, it’s not a question of if that will happen, rather when it will.
Observing how they’ve played in the preseason aside (as all three quarterbacks played well) the only other indication that the organization could opt to play Pickett over Trubisky lies in the latter’s contract. Quite a meal has been made about Trubisky signing with the Steelers, but a great deal of his contract is tied to incentives.
At the moment, his $3.6 million cap hit sits behind that of Mason Rudolph’s $4.0 million this season. The Steelers will owe Trubisky more in 2023 but can save $8.0 million on their cap by releasing him, while only taking a $2.6 million hit.
Those numbers suggest that Trubisky is biding time and could easily be sidelined as a backup – making backup money.
He’s also been the favorite to start in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, and that still appears to be the case as we enter an official announcement this week. But how long the team rides with Mitch as their starter will be a weekly debate, as he looks over his shoulder at a younger upstart and tries to step out of the shadow of his inconsistent past to fend the rookie off.
If he can somehow rival the gunslinging of his predecessor in the Steel City, perhaps Trubisky will have been the steal of free agency.
And if he does not, he could be a great mentor and second option off of the bench, much like Batch and Leftwich were with Roethlisberger.
