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90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Rex Sunahara, Cory Trice Jr., Mitch Trubisky

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 22, 2023 at 8:15 am

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is their annual training camp, which gets underway in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow.

The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2023 training camp are Rex Sunahara, Cory Trice Jr., and Mitch Trubisky.

LS Rex Sunahara: The Steelers added Sunahara to their roster after mandatory minicamp wrapped up in June so he’s one of the newest players on the 2023 team. The West Virginia product first signed in 2020 with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted rookie free agent. He was a member of the Steelers’ practice squad late in 2021 season and re-signed in 2022 to a Reserve/Future contract. He didn’t make it to training camp last year, however. Sunahara most recently spent time with the Arlington Renegades of the XFL.

Outlook: Sunahara was signed to push incumbent Christian Kuntz during training camp and the preseason. Quite honestly, Kuntz is seemingly on shaky ground this summer, thus there is a chance Sunahara could win the long snapper job with a solid summer showing. Don’t totally discount him and may the best long snapper win this summer.

CB Cory Trice Jr.: The Steelers selected Trice in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Purdue, and on the surface, it appears as though they got a bit of a steal. There have been various theories as to why Trice dropped to the seventh round after being widely regarded as fourth-round selection, at worst. None of that obviously matters at this point, however.

At Purdue, Trice played in 30 games over five seasons. He registered 90 total tackles, four for loss, five interceptions, and 15 passes defensed during his college career. A 2023 NFL Scouting Combine invitee, Trice measured in a little over 6-foot-3, 205 pounds while in Indianapolis. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.47-seconds and also posted a short-shuttle time of 4.06-seconds and a three-cone time of 6.70 seconds.

Outlook: The expectations are for Trice to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster and it would be quite disappointing if he failed to do so. He’s a long, physical cornerback, much like the Steelers’ other drafted cornerback this year, Joey Porter Jr. In fact, they look remarkably similar when standing on the practice field without pads on.

Should Trice indeed wind up making the 53-man roster, it will then be interesting to see if he is active for games right out of the chute. How he performs during training camp and the preseason on special teams might play a significant role in whether he dresses for games to start the regular season. Trice missed his fair share of games in college due to injuries, and that probably played a big part in him falling to the seventh round. At the very least, he seems to have nothing but upside versus where the Steelers were able to pick him in the draft.

QB Mitch Trubisky: The Steelers signed Trubisky to a two-year contract as an unrestricted free agent in March 2022, and he opened the regular season as the team’s starting quarterback. However, by Week Five of the regular season, Trubisky had lost the starting job to rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, the team’s first-round draft pick. Trubisky started five games in 2022 and played a total of 356 offensive snaps.

Trubisky, who had played very sparingly in 2021 as a member of the Buffalo Bills, ultimately did see action in seven games in 2022 on his way to completing 117 of his 180 pass attempts for 1,252 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. He was sacked 11 times and rushed 19 times for 38 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers signed Trubisky to a two-year extension this past summer. He will turn 29 years old just prior to the start of the 2023 regular season.

Outlook: Barring something shocking happening, Trubisky should start the 2023 regular season as the Steelers’ second-string quarterback behind Pickett. That’s the way he ended last year and with him being paid $8 million in 2023, he’s too expensive to be anything less than that. He will continue to serve as veteran mentor and sounding board to Pickett in 2023.

Trubisky could receive a tiny bit of playing time in 2023, especially if Pickett misses any time because of injuries. Trubisky is very experienced and the Steelers could do worse when it comes to their backup to Pickett. Even so, here’s to us not needing to see Trubisky play much, if any, in 2023. If he needs to do so, it would likely be a result of Pickett missing multiple games.

Related Items:2023 Training Camp, Cory Trice Jr., Mitch Trubisky, Rex Sunahara

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