You know free agency is fast approaching when we’re starting to talk about certain names over and over again. In less than a week, the Pittsburgh Steelers and all other 31 teams will have the opportunity to legally begin contacting the agents of players who will be unrestricted free agents at the start of the new league year. The Pittsburgh Steelers have cap space this time, and as many needs as ever.
The latter includes the quarterback position, following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, and one recent name that keeps popping up is former second overall pick Mitchell Trubisky, who spent the 2021 season with the Buffalo Bills as Josh Allen’s backup on a one-year, $2.5 million contract. He is expected to receive lucrative offers that give him a chance to compete for a starting job early in the market. And Pro Football Focus sees the Steelers as his ‘dream landing spot’, at least from a fantasy football perspective:
Trubisky, at his best, profiles as the sort of dual-threat talent who is a better fantasy than real-life quarterback. A training camp battle with Mason Rudolph and potentially Dwayne Haskins (restricted free agent) seems manageable but don’t count out the possibility of Trubisky providing more bombs than his more-publicized busts and functioning as an upside QB2 if the Steelers decide to give him a chance. Obviously, he’s not going to be ranked inside anyone’s top-12 signal-callers regardless of where he lands, but a squad like the Steelers possesses copious firepower in Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth as well as what should be an improved offensive line. I’d share a similar sentiment of optimism regarding Trubisky’s fantasy value on any of the additional top-six squads that need a quarterback, as he just spend a year in the same environment that helped transform Josh Allen from a fantasy darling to a real-life world-beater.
Of course, it’s a not unlikely and not undesirable real-life destination for the former bust, as well. One thing that he will have here is talent at the skill positions, including players who have established the ability to serve as an outlet for their quarterback. The offensive line very much needs to be addressed, but there is time for that.
Trubisky is one of numerous quarterbacks the Steelers have already been connected to, but he is one of the few that they wouldn’t actually have to trade for, which Pittsburgh would be more reluctant to do. And he is also a signing that would not prevent them from drafting a quarterback if the right opportunity presented itself.
I don’t consider myself a fan of the potential move, but I can’t help but acknowledge that there is some merit to the speculation of its possibility. And it would be a good position for Trubisky to find himself in, should it come to pass—provided that they can beef up that line a bit.
