Less than an hour into the NFL’s legal tampering period on Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to terms with a quarterback.
Bringing in former Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky on a two-year deal with undisclosed monetary terms isn’t a splashy signing by most standards — but it’s significant for the Steelers.
The organization is often quiet through the first wave of free agency, preferring to prioritize its own players and waiting for the dust to settle before making a series of relatively under-the-radar moves. The Steelers also aren’t known for pursuing outside quarterbacks as potential starters. Since 2004, the year Ben Roethlisberger was drafted, there have been 271 starts by homegrown signal-callers compared to 18 by players who started their NFL careers outside Pittsburgh.
But with Roethlisberger’s retirement, a relatively weak quarterback draft class and the free-agent and trade market drying up, the Steelers had to move fast.
In acquiring Trubisky, a former No. 2 overall pick, the Steelers stayed true to most of their core tenets. They didn’t have to give up draft capital to sign him, and his contract should be relatively inexpensive, giving them the cap space to go after other needs at offensive line, inside linebacker and cornerback.
“I am beyond excited and blessed for the opportunity to be a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization,” Trubisky texted to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. ”I have tremendous respect for the Rooney family and Coach [Mike] Tomlin. They have built one of the best rosters in football, and I can’t wait to contribute and help this team continue their success.”
Is Trubisky the next great Steelers quarterback? Probably not. But the next Roethlisberger probably wasn’t walking through the door in 2022.
The asking price for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is reportedly multiple first-round draft picks along with a massive cap hit, and while Jimmy Garoppolo likely won’t cost quite that haul, he figures to command more draft capital than the Steelers would typically feel comfortable parting with given the lengthy list of roster holes to fill.
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