The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Trubisky, Steelers agree to deal
Last week, Mitchell Trubisky joked about converting his family of lifelong Browns fans into Steelers fans should he happen to sign a free agent contract with Pittsburgh.
Let the conversion begin. Trubisky, the former star quarterback at Mentor High School and Mr. Football in Ohio in 2012, has agreed to a two-year contract with the Steelers, a league source confirmed on March 14. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN was first to report the story. The deal doesn’t become official until 4 p.m. March 16 when the 2022 league year begins.
“This was the best opportunity for me and my family — the best way to get back on the field and try to win games,” Trubisky told Fowler. “You’ve got to go out and earn it.”
The Bears selected Trubisky with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft. His numbers were better than the way he was treated might indicate. He
was 29-21 as a starter. He passed for 10,609 yards and threw 64 touchdown passes compared to 37 interceptions.
The Bears chose to not pick up Trubisky’s fifth year option for 2021. He signed a one-year contract with the Bills last March to back up Josh Allen precisely so he could have the opportunity to sign with another team in 2022 and compete for a starting job.
Trubisky had offers from
the Steelers and New York Giants, Fowler reported. The Giants were tempting because their head coach is Brian Daboll, who was the Bills’ offensive coordinator prior to taking the job in New York.
Daboll knows Trubisky well, but Daniel Jones is the starting quarterback for the Giants until someone replaces him. With Ben Roethlisberger retiring in Pittsburgh, the two quarterbacks on the Steelers’ roster are Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins. Both are better suited as backups. Plus, the Steelers were a playoff team in 2021. The Giants were 4-13 and fired head coach Joe Judge.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers — a legendary franchise,” Trubisky said last week on a podcast with Adam Schefter of ESPN. “The black and gold. You think of Coach Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger slingin’ it around. A great historical franchise, and Pittsburgh’s pretty close to home for me, being from Cleveland. That would be pretty cool. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin and that great defense they have up there.”
Financial terms of Trubisky’s contract with the Steelers were not disclosed. But it is obvious Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert wanted to move quickly to snatch up the 27-year-old quarterback before another team could swoop in and sign him.
The Saints, Panthers, Colts and Seahawks are among teams looking for starting quarterbacks.