QB Mitch Trubisky didn’t have that great of a debut as a starting quarterback last Thursday against the New England Patriots, seeing his team lose 21-18 at home to the 2-10 squad. Trubisky took a while to get settled down in the game. He threw an interception early on that led to another Patriots touchdown, making the score 21-3 halfway through the second quarter. Trubisky would finish the game 22-of-35 for 190 yards, throwing one touchdown while running for another, along with one interception. But his shaky play in the pocket, coupled with his bad misses to open receivers, made for a bad performance in the veteran signal caller’s first start in 2023.
Former Cleveland Browns general manager and current media analyst and sports writer Michael Lombardi spoke about Trubisky and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation on The Lombardi Line podcast. He told co-host Stormy Buonantony that the Steelers are trying to fit a square peg in a round hole with Trubisky, attempting to pretend he can be a quality NFL quarterback when the results have shown everything but.
“My question is how long are they gonna stick with my man, MVP Mitch,” Lombardi said on The Lombardi Line podcast. “I think they’re like the Patriots, they just can’t get good quarterbacking play, and it doesn’t come from Trubisky. For some reason, they’ve tried to make Trubisky into something that he’s not, and that’s a really good starting quarterback.”
Head coach Mike Tomlin has defended Trubisky multiple times the last several weeks, stating that he is Pittsburgh’s starter while Kenny Pickett is out with an ankle injury and that there won’t be a competition between him and Mason Rudolph for the job. Tomlin stated his reasoning for Trubisky starting is that he’s gotten the most work in practice as well as live reps on the field, having seen extensive playing time both in 2022 and this season for Pittsburgh, while Rudolph hasn’t played in a regular season game since 2021. Tomlin also said that Trubisky has been a franchise quarterback before and doesn’t act like a backup when he’s elevated, having played and started in numerous NFL games in the past.
While Trubisky was previously drafted to be the Chicago Bears franchise quarterback in 2017, that experiment failed as Trubisky was allowed to walk after his contract was up. He enjoyed a strong second season in Chicago, leading the Bears to the playoffs while being elected to the Pro Bowl, but his play dropped off after that, failing to develop a better pocket presence as well as being prone to turning the football over as a risk taker.
His first three starts last season with Pittsburgh were uninspiring, and he was benched at halftime against the New York Jets for Pickett as Tomlin stated that the offense needed a spark, never taking back the reins after that. The fact of the matter is that Tomlin is trying to see Trubisky as the former #2 overall pick back in 2017, having the pedigree and experience to make him think he can be a successful starting quarterback. However, he’s been anything but that, flaming out as a potential franchise quarterback. Many others like him have been relegated to a journeyman role as they hoped to hold onto a backup job in the league.
It’s like going back to your ex after a bad breakup, hoping that the situation will be better when neither of you put in the work to make it better. Tomlin and the Steelers are continually going back to Trubisky when he’s shown he can’t get the job done adequately as a fill-in with Pickett out of commission. He may have more experience than Rudolph the last two seasons, but given the results in those contests, perhaps going to Rudolph would be the wisest choice Pittsburgh could make with their season on the line.
