Steeler Nation, the time has officially come. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed the successor to Ben Roethlisberger on Thursday in the form of Mitch Trubisky. The official contract numbers came out to be a two-year, $14,200,000 deal with a $5,250,000 signing bonus, $5,250,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,100,000. As a part of introducing Trubisky to the hometown, the Steelers hosted a virtual media press conference early Thursday afternoon. It is finally time we got to hear from the probable QB1 himself. He began the conference by addressing Steeler Nation:
“Steeler Nation, I hope you guys know how excited I am to be here. I can’t wait to meet you guys and play on Sundays,” he said. “This town loves football and nobody loves football as much as I do. I’m just excited to play for a city like this.”
As it always is in the NFL, as teams hunt for their potential future starting quarterback, there are a lot of eyes watching. Trubisky was fully aware of the high demand for a player like himself at the quarterback position, and made sure his decision put him in the best spot possible to win. So when the Steelers came calling, Trubisky was all ears:
"This is definitely where I wanted to be," he proclaimed. "Going through free agency with my agent, we went through all of the options where I thought would be a great fit for me in the future. When we found out Pittsburgh had interest, I talked to my agent and said this is where I want to be. I thought it would be a great situation for me to come here. Luckily it worked out. I am happy to be here."
A lot of fans know Trubisky as the quarterback that was drafted 2nd overall in 2017 by the Chicago Bears and had some trouble getting the offense clicking. Therefore, he was asked about his time in Chicago and how he’s changed as a player since then:
"I have a lot more experience now," he said. "Taking all the games I started in Chicago and everything I learned in Buffalo, I think I am more of a veteran now. I have been through three or four offenses at this point, so I know what I like, I know what works. I know what great communication and culture looks like between players and coaches. I feel like mentally I am in a really great space to get back on the field and do great things. I am here to do whatever I can to help the Steelers win."
Trubisky knows it will be a competitive quarterback room. We saw Dwayne Haskins sign his tender earlier this week and know Mason Rudolph will look to make his case to be a starter in September. It is safe to say that Trubisky will have to prove himself and the starting job won’t be handed to him; and Trubisky sounds ready for that challenge:
“I'm in a situation where I have to prove myself back on the field…I think you're always betting on yourself, in that sense, and I definitely am in this case. You got to bet on yourself and just trust what you're capable of.”
For those also wondering, it was confirmed as well that he goes by ‘Mitch” and he will sport the number 10 in the Black and Gold.
Join us in welcoming Mitch Trubisky to Steeler Nation!
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