The 2022 NFL offseason has been a rather wild one due to the flurry of trades and signings that have happened just two weeks into the new league year.
While the trades of big-name wide receivers in Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill have stolen headlines recently, the major moves at quarterback across the league will shape the upcoming season immensely, leading to CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin ranking the top 12 moves at the position so far this offseason.Â
Of course, those 12 moves include the Pittsburgh Steelers’ signing of veteran quarterback Mitchell Trubisky on the first day of the legal tampering period to a two-year, $14 million deal that could reach up to $27 million in incentives, giving Pittsburgh a serviceable quarterback to help transition into the post-Ben Roethlisberger era who brings pedigree (former No. 2 overall pick), plenty of experience (50 career starts) and an ideal fit in second-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s system.
Knowing all of that when it comes to the Trubisky signing by the Steelers, Benjamin ranked the move at No. 6 in the top 12 QB moves of the offseason, trailing the likes of the Russell Wilson trade to Denver, Matt Ryan’s trade to Indianapolis, Deshaun Watson’s trade to Cleveland, New Orleans re-signing Jameis Winston, and Carson Wentz’s trade to Washington.
“This is basically backup/spot starter money for a 27-year-old former No. 2 overall pick with a pair of playoff runs on his resume. In other words, it’s just fine for the position in which the Steelers find themselves,” Benjamin writes. “There’s a good chance he can at least offer what Ben Roethlisberger did in 2021, except with much better legs, which would keep Pittsburgh in the wild-card hunt. There’s a chance he can be better. Regardless, the Steelers can still invest in QB through the draft and/or let Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins compete. It’s a low-risk, high-reward play for a club rightfully throwing multiple darts at the position.”
Benjamin absolutely nails this assessment of the Trubisky signing by Pittsburgh, and slots it in rather well within his top 12 quarterback moves of the offseason.
The Steelers did a great job getting Trubisky on an affordable deal, especially after insiders around the league pushed the belief that Trubisky could get more than $15 million a season, which turned out to simply be agent talk and never close to happening. Getting a guy with the experience, pedigree and overall skillset that the Steelers did at that price is a huge win for the organization, one that should keep Pittsburgh in playoff contention.
That said, it’s not a move that blocks the Steelers from going all in on a quarterback in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft such as Liberty’s Malik Willis, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder or Ole Miss’s Matt Corral. What Trubisky is, essentially, is a placeholder or a bridge quarterback, if you will, which is perfectly fine.
It was a smart move by General Manager Kevin Colbert to at least guard against missing out on a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft, which happens to be his final one as GM of the Steelers before retiring in early May. Having that type of insurance policy in Trubisky at the most important position in football is a big, big win for the Steelers moving forward these next few months.
