The decision to sign a two-year extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers, lowering his 2023 cap hit and cementing his spot as the backup to second-year starting quarterback Kenny Pickett was a rather surprising one made by Mitch Trubisky this offseason.
After being upset with the way he was pulled from the lineup at halftime of the Week Four loss to the New York Jets and landing on the bench behind Pickett, it felt like a done deal that the Steelers and Trubisky would part ways this offseason with the 28-year-old Trubisky likely aiming for another shot at a starting role elsewhere.
That seemed especially likely following Trubisky’s comments to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor last season stating he wished he would have waited a few days to sign in free agency, rather than jumping head-first into a deal with the Steelers.
But his relationship with Pickett grew strong, and the Steelers’ stability was alluring to Trubisky, leading to him signing the extension, remaining in Pittsburgh as the backup long-term.
Trubisky’s decision was a good one financially for himself and was a great one overall for the Steelers, who are set at quarterback for the next few years. But former Steelers quarterback and current SiriusXM NFL Analyst Jim Miller, who co-hosts the “Movin The Chains” show with Pat Kirwan, is rather disappointed in Trubisky.
“I’m disappointed in Mitch, because, to me, he should have signed with another team and taken another bite at the apple to start. What does that say about him, that he took a backup deal there just to remain in Pittsburgh?” Miller said on Wednesday, according to audio via SiriusXM. “I get it. He likes it there, but if I were him, I’d want to be the man. I would’ve signed with another team.”
At just 28 years old and with plenty of starting experience, there could have been some opportunities out there for Trubisky to take another bite at the apple, so to speak, as a starter. Only problem is, Trubisky was still under contract with the Steelers, who didn’t have much interest in moving on from him for the 2023 season.
Since Trubisky wasn’t a free agent, it was speculated that he could be released or traded (or that he would ask for a trade) if they didn’t work out a deal to lower his cap hit. As has been reported, Trubisky received no new guarantees as part of the extension, including no new signing bonus.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk speculated earlier in the offseason that the extension was more of an ultimatum, with the purpose of lowering his 2023 salary cap number. Due to earn a base salary of $8 million this year, the Steelers turned $6.92 million of that into a signing bonus that can now be spread over three years in Trubisky’s extension.
The extension reportedly includes base salaries of $4.25 million in 2024 and $5 million in 2025, with a $1 million roster bonus for each year. That’s already a decline from the two-year, $16 million deal he initially signed last offseason. That said, the Steelers were viewing him as a potential starter then, before drafting Kenny Pickett and watching him develop over the course of his rookie year. Now it’s clear that Trubisky will only ever be a backup on their roster.
So instead of what would essentially be a one-year, $8 million contract, the extension now looks like a three-year, $19.25 million deal, which is the compensation remaining to him through 2025, of which only $6.92 million is guaranteed.
The fact that he did sign a deal obviously cemented his fate as a backup though, so it was still a decision to basically abandon any chance of competing for another starting job any time soon.
In Week Four of last season, Trubisky lost his job to Pickett. But he served as a mentor and leader the rest of the way, Pickett calling him another coach he could lean on, and Trubisky has always been praised for his maturity and locker room presence. Cementing himself as a backup might not be ideal but Trubisky also finds some stability with the extension, no longer wondering where he’ll play next. Still just one snap away from action, he’s likely to see the field to some degree in 2023.
While Miller certainly has the right to feel that way towards Trubisky, it says a lot about the stability of the Steelers’ franchise and the relationship he has with Pickett and head coach Mike Tomlin that Trubisky decided to tie himself long-term to the Steelers as the backup. The alternative was venturing out into the NFL landscape and play musical chairs with the quarterback position on teams that might not be very good at all, leading to a series of potential one-year deals and stopgap situations.
Trubisky made a wise decision, getting off that carousel, sticking with a stable franchise and a situation that he very clearly likes.
