Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky was named a preseason winner by NBC Sports Chicago Bears Insider Josh Schrock. After performing well enough in the preseason to likely be named the Steelers’ starting quarterback and holding off first-round rookie Kenny Pickett, Schrock believes that Trubisky is likely on his final chance.
“First-round picks almost always get second chances in the NFL. But third chances are much harder to find. The Steelers believe they have the talent to win a Super Bowl with solid quarterback play. Is Trubisky capable of delivering that in the brutal AFC North?”
With Kenny Pickett waiting in the wings after an impressive preseason, the time is now for Trubisky to prove he can belong in the NFL. While his time in Pittsburgh will likely be short (I would be surprised if he’s around in 2023), if he plays well this season and shows his value, he could become a starter elsewhere going forward. Pittsburgh is committed to Pickett long-term, but it seems as if they believe that Trubisky is their best option right now. It’s up to him to show that he can stick in the league and prove Pittsburgh right for starting him over Pickett.
The fact that Trubisky was able to play well enough to hold off Pickett, who also had a really impressive preseason means his spot as a winner on this list is deserving. Come the regular season though, no one is going to care about his preseason performance. He has to show that he’s clearly a better option than Pickett, because his leash might not be all that long.
I have faith that Trubisky can be a good quarterback for this team and keep them in the playoff hunt. The problem is the offensive line. I don’t have faith that the offensive line will keep Trubisky upright and give him time to make plays down the field. While his mobility is certainly a plus in that regard, I think it’s going to be this team’s downfall and could negatively impact Trubisky’s performance.
If the line is that bad, it’s a valid question whether or not the team would want to turn to Pickett and stick him behind a shaky offensive line. With that being said, he looked pretty good when he was under pressure in the preseason, and maybe that could carry over to the regular season.
Basically, while it’s a good sign that Trubisky did enough to win this job in the preseason, it’s all going to come down to how he sticks up when the games begin to matter more. With Pittsburgh’s Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals kicking off a week from today, we’ll get some more clarity on if that will be the case.
