The Pittsburgh Steelers and Omar Khan did a lot of wheeling and dealing this offseason. They revamped the offensive line, the secondary and the inside linebackers’ room. The Steelers also made changes in the quarterback room. Khan and Mike Tomlin didn’t change the personnel mind you, just what they got paid. Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph are back for the black and gold, but it isn’t the same room.
Credit: AP
Mason Rudolph (2), Mitch Trubisky (10) and Kenny Pickett (8).
Pickett is the clear number one and Trubisky, after agreeing to a contract extension, is the backup quarterback. Rudolph’s best option is hoping he impresses someone in the preseason to get a chance to be the primary backup for someone. After the Steelers’ opening day opponent the San Francisco 49ers debacle in the NFC Championship game, teams will be very reticent to let an emergency quarterback who is capable of walking away for little or no compensation.
Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the PM Team/w Poni & Mueller for his weekly appearance on the afternoon program and echoed some of his thoughts from Pro Football Talk as reported by Steeler Nation's own Maura Carey last week. After discussing the 49ers and the potential landing spots for DeAndre Hopkins, Andrew Fillipponi asked Florio his opinion on the Trubisky contract extension with the Steelers. The PFT founder added a few new morsels to his previous analysis.
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Steelers Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph
“I had a hunch when I saw he signed a new three-year contract,” Florio said. "He was due to make eight million this year with his incentives on top of it. I had a hunch right after Mason Rudolph re-signed one of the questions Chris Simms and I raised on Pro Football Talk was what does this mean for Mitch Trubisky?”
Steelers Mason Rudolph May Not Have Bad Blood But He Definitely Has Bad Luck
The Steelers appeared to use Rudolph to leverage Pittsburgh's offensive captain, who was now clearly the backup, into a new deal. Rudolph, for 24 hours or so, looked like he had made a wise investment to sit behind Trubisky for one year, watch him walk in free agency and slide into the backup role. Like many plans involving the former Oklahoma State quarterback, it was for naught.
“When you look at the full details,” Florio continued. “He (Trubisky) got nothing more for this year. He got no guarantees beyond this year. If you have no guarantees beyond this year and the numbers are less than what you are making this year, which they are in 2024 and 2025, why would you do it?"
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Steelers Ben Roethlisberger, and Charlie Batch embrace each other after the Steelers knock off Baltimore with a last-second field goal
Trubisky is due to be 32 years old after his current contract extension if he plays out the whole contract. The relationship between Pickett and Trubisky is very good and the pair like each other a lot. If the Steelers are lucky, the Pickett-Trubisky team can rival the Ben Roethlisberger-Charlie Batch pairing.
“The only reason you would say yes to it,” Florio posited. “Is if they basically told you if you don’t do it, we are going to tear up this deal and you are out of luck in May without a team to be a backup quarterback for. I think it was a smart move by him. A shrewd move by the Steelers, they parlay the deal they had for one more year into security for the next three and Trubisky has a chance to make some money if Kenny Pickett gets injured. He is slipping into full self-awareness he is not a starting quarterback in the NFL.”
The most important thing a quarterback who is highly touted and drafted ahead of classmates Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson can do is realize before he burns bridges that he is not a franchise quarterback. Trubisky catapults to the top of the list of NFL backup quarterbacks. The Steelers retain a lot of Pickett’s skill set when Trubisky is in the game and more time learning the offense will only benefit him if and when he is called upon to relieve Pickett.
Keith Srakocic/Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett.
Trubisky can only work with what he has in the NFL, a lesson that has cost multiple other quarterbacks in recent years a shot to be a career backup. The former Chicago Bears quarterback was not a disaster in Chicago, but he wasn’t Mahomes and Watson. Luckily, he knows it and is perfectly content as a member of the Steelers and one of the best quarterback rooms in football.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you happy that Trubisky will be with the Steelers for three more seasons? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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