Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan dropped major news in an interview with Pat McAfee Thursday afternoon. He told McAfee the team is finishing up a contract extension with QB Mitch Trubisky.
“To be candid with you, we’re finishing up an extension with Mitch Trubisky,” Khan told the show. “We feel good about our QB room. So that was an important piece.”
Khan did not reveal any details of the deal. Trubisky signed a two-year deal last year. Trubisky lost the starting job last year and enters 2023 and the foreseeable future as the team’s backup. Though he once said he regretted signing so quickly with the team, he’s obviously happy enough to be Pittsburgh’s backup for the future.
Khan said the deal will get done soon.
“We’re working on that so that will be done here shortly.”
UPDATE (2:07 PM): According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it’s a two-year extension for Trubisky. It will lower his cap number for this season.
In 2022, Trubisky entered the year as the starter and started the first four games with the team. He was benched at halftime in the team’s Week Four contest against the New York Jets, giving way to the Kenny Pickett era. Trubisky appeared in a handful of games to replace Pickett throughout the rest of the year, including starting the team’s Week 15 game against the Carolina Panthers. Trubisky officially appeared in seven games last season, starting five, and completing 65% of his passes with four touchdowns and five interceptions.
Khan first hinted at a possible extension earlier in the offseason, saying he hoped Trubisky would be on the team’s roster for years to come.
“Mitch has been great,” Khan at February’s NFL Combine. “It’s been great having him around and I look forward to having him around here for a long time.”
An extension with Trubisky could create cap space for 2023. He is set to earn an $8 million base salary this year. It’s unclear what the team could use any extra cap space for. It’s worth noting there’s still two open spots on their 90-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s first day of OTAs.
Khan told McAfee the QB room is where he and the Steelers want it.
“Kenny Pickett’s our starter and we feel really good about Mitch Trubisky in the role he’s in. And he feels good about it. We’ve added Mason Rudolph, so we’re really excited about that QB room.”
Pittsburgh will run back the same QB room as last year with Kenny Pickett as the start, Trubisky as the backup, along with Mason Rudolph as the #3. Rudolph officially returned on a one-year deal with the team yesterday after spending months in free agency.
Developing story.
