With Ben Roethlisberger announcing his retirement after 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the club knew they needed to act quickly in order to replace one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history. On Monday afternoon, the Steelers confirmed they had acquired free agent quarterback Mitchell Trubisky on a two-year deal, worth an undisclosed amount of money.
“I am beyond excited and blessed for the opportunity to be a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization,” Trubisky said through a text, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. ”I have tremendous respect for the Rooney family and Coach [Mike] Tomlin. They have built one of the best rosters in football, and I can’t wait to contribute and help this team continue their success.”
Trubisky was drafted with the second overall pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2017 NFL Draft, but it never worked out the way the franchise nor the quarterback had anticipated. In 2021, he signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills playing behind starting quarterback Josh Allen. He will get another opportunity though to prove he can be a number one quarterback in the NFL with the Steelers.
The signing of Trubisky provides the Steelers with some insurance going into the new campaign, considering the 2022 NFL Draft class isn’t deep on quarterbacks and neither is the free agent market. Trubisky was a relatively risk-free signing in which they didn’t have to trade away any valuable assets in order to acquire him. There had been discussion of the Steelers potentially trading for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, but the asking price is seemingly too high. Reportedly, the Texans wanted multiple first-round draft picks for the 26-year-old, who would also come with a massive cap hit.
The Steelers also have Mason Rudolph, who was drafted in the third round with the 76th pick overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh. He has spent the last four seasons with the organization, making a total of 10 starts during that time.
“Mason is 5-4-1 as an NFL starter, albeit in a backup kind of role, but we’re excited to see what is next for Mason,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in February, via ESPN. “Dwayne Haskins came in and did some nice things throughout the season as a scout team quarterback. He played some in a preseason, and we’re excited to see what Dwayne can provide either from competition or maybe he evolves as a starter. None of us know at this point.
“It’ll be a great training camp for those two, and for whatever player we’re able to add in that mix.”
The Steelers are clearly trying to create an internal competition in training camp for the number one position and are hoping somebody will be able to step up to the plate. Pittsburgh finished second in the AFC North last season, ending the campaign with a 9-7-1 record that allowed them to sneak into the playoffs. They were ultimately eliminated in the Wild Card Round though by the Kansas City Chiefs.
