The Pittsburgh Steelers will see two of their three former starting quarterbacks this season after undergoing an extreme makeover at the position this offseason. Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph are no longer with the team after each started games for Pittsburgh in 2023. Of course, Pittsburgh cut Trubisky, traded Pickett, and watched Rudolph walk in free agency.
The Steelers quarterback room now consists of Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen, which many may consider an upgrade from what the team previously had in the building last year. However, they are slated to see two of the three familiar faces in 2024, with Pittsburgh slated to face Trubisky and the Buffalo Bills tonight and Pickett with the Philadelphia Eagles on December 15.
Unless something happens to QB Jalen Hurts, the most Pittsburgh will see of their former first-round pick in Pickett is the sideline. His only chance of seeing the field during the regular season would be an injury occurring to Hurts. As for Trubisky, Pittsburgh should get a fair amount of exposure to their former quarterback, who went 2-5 as a starter during his two years with the team.
He did have moments where he flashed potential, like when he came in for the injured Pickett in 2022 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and helped lead the team to victory. He also had plenty of low moments, including a terrible stretch last year where he lost three-straight games from Week 13-15, throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions while looking completely overwhelmed against the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.
Mitch Trubisky returned to Buffalo after his two-year stint in Pittsburgh, taking up the backup quarterback job behind Josh Allen. In his first preseason game back in Buffalo, Trubisky completed 8-0f-10 pass attempts for 82 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions while carrying the ball three times for 12 yards. He was sacked twice against the Chicago Bears, who had eight sacks in the game against Buffalo.
Pittsburgh is in a prime position to hunt its former starting quarterback tonight in its second preseason game as Buffalo works out the kinks in its pass protection from a week ago. Be sure to watch Pittsburgh’s defensive line and outside linebackers put pressure on Mitch Trubisky, seeing if they can force him into his turnover-happy ways yet again.
