With the Steelers’ 2023 regular season underway following a disappointing year that came up just short of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to start finding out whether or not the answers to last year’s questions are on the roster, tested all throughout training camp and the preseason.
Both sides of the ball got key additions through both free agency and the draft, with new starters, including potentially rookies, amounting to half a dozen or more. The offensive line, the linebackers, and the secondary were all key targets since last year. But what will they look like?
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
Topic Statement: QB Mitch Trubisky will earn his pay this week.
Explanation: In the year of the backup quarterback, many teams have managed to adjust to their unplanned-for reality. Backups often make good money for just that reason, and the Steelers are paying near a premium for Mitch Trubisky. Now in his first start of the season on a full week’s worth of practice, it’s his time to prove he is worth the investment.
Buy:
There’s no escaping the fact that Mitch Trubisky is a bit of a gunslinger. His performances are going to live or die by his ability to hit on the plays he attacks down the field, as often as not. The last time out, he did not hit his marks.
This time, he will. Quite frankly, there is just too much pressure for it not to be better. He started on a short week the last time out, and one thing we’ve seen from him is that he looks a lot better when he has sufficient time to prepare.
He has that now, and he has had the time to work with George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, and Pat Freiermuth. It’s not going to be all missiles down the field, but against an average Colts passing defense, there is no reason to think he can’t look the part he has been compensated to play.
Sell:
There’s just one small bugaboo in the midst, and that is the fact that this Colts defense knows how to take the ball away. Not only are they successful in generating pressure, they translate that pressure into turnovers. Their 13 interceptions on the season are the fourth-most in the league, and they can exploit Trubisky’s aggressiveness by pressuring him into taking undue risks.
He’ll probably make significant throws in between, but this one is shaping up to be a game that will be decided between two backup quarterbacks and who makes more costly mistakes. He and Gardner Minshew have a lot in common in their boom-or-bust style of play.
