No one knows how well Mitch Trubisky will do as a Pittsburgh Steeler. He could be one-and-done. Or it could be the start of a beautifully rebuilt career. But everyone has a guess, including NFL.com’s David Carr. In a recent article, Carr provided an outlook on all the quarterbacks in new places this offseason, offering commentary on their fit and 2022 outlook.
Here’s how he described Trubisky’s landing in Pittsburgh.
“The Steelers weren’t able to be all that creative or forward-thinking with Ben Roethlisberger under center, but they aren’t afraid to change schemes and involve the quarterback in the run game. Not to mention, Trubisky is surrounded by solid talent, with Najee Harris, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth making life easier for the sixth-year pro. If the Steelers do end up drafting a quarterback later this month, which certainly seems possible, Trubisky will have to win the job. He’s fully capable of doing so — and if he rises to the occasion, it could play in his favor (and the Steelers’, for that matter) come September.”
Schematically, Trubisky fits offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s offense well, arguably even better than Roethlisberger, and Trubisky has more weapons in Pittsburgh than he did in Chicago. He also has more stability and less outside pressure from the media, which may sound like noise but is a real obstacle, especially in a tough Chicago market. Pittsburgh’s also taken steps to improve their struggling offensive line, spending money this offseason on interior linemen James Daniels and Mason Cole.
As Carr notes, Trubisky will still need to officially become the starter, he isn’t being handed anything, but odds are good he’ll edge out Mason Rudolph by late summer.
So how well will Trubisky perform? Numbers only tell you so much but Carr offered a prediction. 67% completion percentage, 3,200 passing yards, 20 TDs, 10 INTs; 250 rushing yards, 3 TDs.
Not a sparkling stat line, especially in a 17-game season, but not a terrible one either. A 2:1 TD to INT ratio would match his career best mark set in 2020. In fact, Carr’s projection closely mirrors what Trubisky did in his final season with the Bears, a year in which he also completed 67% of his throws, so maybe Carr put less thought into this than it’d initially appear.
So long as Trubisky takes care of the ball, makes a couple of “hey, that wasn’t too bad” type of plays and is surrounded by an average to above average run game and top 10 defense, the Steelers will be competitive. Not Super Bowl contenders, probably not division champs, but in the mix. Not a bad place to be a year removed from losing a Hall of Fame quarterback.
