Pittsburgh Steelers Targeted Mitch Trubisky Early And Got Their Man

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ approach to free agency has long been conservative.

General manager Kevin Colbert, who is retiring after next month’s NFL Draft, has never been one to make splash signings. He prefers to wait until the market settles then sign players to contracts with good values.

With that in mind, it is obvious how badly the Steelers wanted Mitch Trubisky to potentially replace future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger as their starting quarterback. An hour into the NFL’s legal tampering period with free agents Monday, the Steelers reached a verbal agreement with Trubisky on a two-year contract.

Trubisky officially signed the deal two days later. The contract includes a $5 million signing bonus, $14 million in guaranteed money and the potential to be earn $27 million.

The New York Giants also pursued Trubisky with the idea he could possibly unseat incumbent QB Daniel Jones as the starter.

Trubisky has familiarity with new Giants coach Brian Daboll. Trubisky spent last season as Buffalo’s backup quarterback and Daboll was the Bills’ offensive coordinator.

Yet Trubisky signed with the Steelers. He figures to enter training camp as the favorite to beat out Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins to become the successor to Roethlisberger, who retired after a franchise-record 18 seasons in Pittsburgh.

“Going through free agency with my agent, we went through all the options to see where would be a great fit for me,” Trubisky said. “When we found out Pittsburgh had interest, I said this is where I wanted to be. It happened very quickly, we jumped on it, and I’m happy to be here.”

Trubisky has not lived up to the lofty expectations placed upon him when the Chicago Bears traded up to select him with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft.

While Trubisky had a 29-21 record in four seasons with the Bears while leading them to the playoffs twice and being selected to the Pro Bowl once, Chicago moved on from him prior to last season. The Bears drafted Justin Fields in the first round to be their quarterback of their future and signed veteran Andy Dalton to be the stopgap starter.

Trubisky did have any opportunities in free agency last spring to be a starter and wound up signing with the Bills to be Josh Allen’s understudy. Trubisky attempted just six passes as Buffalo won the AFC East for a second straight season.

However, Trubisky does not consider 2021 a wasted year.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” Trubisky said. “I needed it even more than I knew at the time. I learned a lot. The first thing I learned when I got to Buffalo is what a great culture there is. Culture wins, I could tell that in Buffalo, and I could tell it’s a great thing here. I’m excited to contribute to that.”

While the Steelers say they will be holding a three-way competition in training camp, it is safe to assume Trubisky is the presumptive QB1.

Roethlisberger will be difficult to replace, though. He led the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles and 12 playoff appearances while finishing fifth in NFL history with 64,088 passing yards.

“What Ben did here for 18 seasons on the field and off the field, without a doubt he’s a Hall of Famer,” Trubisky said. “You just hope to continue that. For me, that’s coming in here, being myself, playing my game. What No. 7 did here, what Big Ben did, was special. We want to continue that winning legacy that he started.”