It sure seems likely that the Pittsburgh Steelers will sign an experienced free agent quarterback on the cheap ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. If they do, there’s a good chance that Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitch Trubisky might just be one of a few they have eyes on signing. at the very least, it sounds like Trubisky will have a new team in 2022 after playing one season for the Bills in 2021.
On Tuesday at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, Bills general manager Brandon Beane was asked a few questions about Trubisky’s future with the former first-round draft pick out of North Carolina slated to become an unrestricted free agent on March 16. Basically, Beane made it sound like the Bills weren’t going to be able to re-sign Trubisky this offseason.
“You know, nothing but positive about Mitch,” Beane said on Tuesday. “He just, man, he’s a marry-your-daughter type of guy. Just shows up every day with a smile on his face and works hard. You know, for his ups and downs in Chicago, never said a negative word about anything. And you know, I’ve been around players when they’ve come from a stop that didn’t go as well and they can’t help themselves. ‘Man, I like this place better because y’all do this and that.’ And Mitch never, I mean, he’s such a pro. You know, I was curious, I talked to Josh [Allen] a little bit as we were closing in on the deal [with Mitch], just saying, ‘Hey, this may happen.’ Making sure there was nothing I was unaware of – that they would have a relationship – which there wasn’t.
“You know, Mitch just came in with open arms, open eyes. Learned our system with Ken Dorsey, Brian Daboll and Josh, and was really just a great caddy. The whole year he was ready if his number was called. Fortunately, Josh stayed healthy, but I’ve got nothing but positive things for him and I feel sure he’s gonna get a good opportunity to at least compete for a starting job this year.”
So, if Trubisky does get an opportunity elsewhere in 2022, what makes him ready for that? Beane attempted to answer that very question on Tuesday.
“yeah, I mean, if you look at his career history, in Chicago, they went to the playoffs, they won a lot of games,” Beane said of Trubisky. “When you compare it to young quarterbacks, starting as a rookie, I mean, he was drafted highly and in fairness, I think a lot of it happens because he was drafted so highly and above some of the guys he was, he was always being compared to them. And just, you know, was never gonna be able to live up to some of the things that, you know, [Patrick] Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, some of those guys did. But he’s a really good quarterback and I think he’ll have a good opportunity.”
In the coming weeks, there’s not going to be too many teams willing to give Trubisky a a great opportunity to be their Week 1 starting quarterback in 2022 so the North Carolina product is sure to be limited when it comes to potential landing spots, Pittsburgh could potentially be one of those few landing spots for Trubisky and especially if he’s willing to sign a two-year deal with a new money average of $5 million or less.
Last year, Trubisky signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Bills after playing his first four seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. With the Bills last season, Trubisky played just 33 total offensive snaps on his way to completing six of his eight total pass attempts for 43 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. As a member of the Bears and after being the second overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Trubisky was 29-21 as a starter. He completed 1,016 of his 1,585 total pass attempts for 10,652 yards with 64 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.
With Trubisky not playing much in 2021, he’ll surely be cheap this offseason as a free agent and will likely be looking for a place that will give him a legitimate shot to revive his NFL career. According to a few reports on Monday, the Steelers reportedly are interested in possibly signing Trubisky this offseason. However, it’s worth noting that the Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints are two other teams that are reportedly also interested in Trubisky, according to Jordan Schultz, who also said that many around the NFL view the young quarterback’s fourth season/lack of development with the Bears as a Matt Nagy problem and that sitting a year in Buffalo has helped him, both on the field and in preparation.
“Bills LOVED having him – and several execs told me Mitch is viewed as a starting QB right now,” Schultz said.
Trubisky also recently received some praise from ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, who said on Tuesday that the North Carolina product should be a starter in the league
According to DKSportsbook on Tuesday, Trubisky is (+1000) to be the starting quarterback of the Steelers in 2022. So, it certainly seems like Trubisky to Pittsburgh is picking up a lot of steam this week, and thus it certainly sounds like he could indeed land in Pittsburgh in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
