Appearances can be deceiving. Heading into the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers appeared to have a solid quarterback room. None of their three quarterbacks were going to win MVP or even be elected to the Pro Bowl, but they were good. The staff had the utmost confidence in Kenny Pickett, and if something happened to him, things could be worse than Mitch Trubisky in a pinch. Even Mason Rudolph had experience and could do the job if disaster struck.
Fast forward 15 games, and none of the above could be further from the truth. Pickett can’t stay healthy for an entire season, and when he is in the game, the offense can’t score touchdowns. Trubisky has shown he’s no better. Rudolph wasn’t given a fair shake, having zero first-team reps, but completing two of three passes for three yards and getting sacked in the process doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for a potential start on Saturday.
Except for Pickett, everyone must go in the offseason. Trubisky nor Rudolph will challenge the former first-round pick enough to light a fire under his ass. The Steelers need to head back to the drawing board and go younger, not older. Pittsburgh missed its opportunity to bring in a truly tested veteran who could play well enough to hold onto the starting job while mentoring Pickett for a season. The unfortunate lesson was learned early: Trubisky wasn’t HIM.
According to Over the Cap, the Steelers have a potential out with the former second-overall draft pick after this season. Keeping him means $7.556 million against the cap in 2024, including a $1 million roster bonus due in March. Cutting the seven-year veteran puts $4.613 million dead money on the books but offers a cap savings of $2.943 million.
2025 would leave the Steelers with a better financial situation — $2.306 million dead money, $6 million cap savings — but no one wants to see a repeat of 2023.
Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan should cut Trubisky (Rudolph’s contract expires after this season), draft a quarterback and sign a college free agent or, at worst, a veteran who’s proven he can win.
Unfortunately, Trubisky will probably be back because cutting him would be admitting they were wrong. And we know Tomlin doesn’t like to be wrong.
