The new regime in East Rutherford appears, at the very least, committed to seeing what they have under center in soon-to-be fourth-year signal-caller Daniel Jones. That likely eliminates any possible blockbuster moves at the quarterback position for New York Giants this offseason. However, that’s not to say general manager Joe Schoen and company won’t be on the hunt to beef up the position behind Jones. Preferably with an eye on a player who presents the upside to push Jones and potentially supplant the Duke product if needed.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, impending free agent Mitchell Trubisky may fit that billing for Big Blue.
“Teams are openly discussing whether Trubisky gets $10 million or more annually on a new deal,” the insiders detailed on March 6. “That his name is a hot one is not manufactured. It’s real. His career reset in Buffalo went very well, and teams that will look to draft a quarterback could sign Trubisky to start this year. A Trubisky pairing with a first-round quarterback such as Malik Willis wouldn’t shock a few teams. The Panthers, Steelers, Commanders, Giants and potential Broncos are believed to be in the mix here.”
A Second Opportunity
After sitting behind superstar Josh Allen in Buffalo for a season, Trubisky appears on the verge of earning a second opportunity to push for a starting gig in the NFL. The former No. 2 overall pick is viewed as a hot commodity on the open market and with Russell Wilson dealt to Denver and Aaron Rodgers getting a new contract in Green Bay, Trubisky looks to be skyrocketing to the top of the free agency pool.
“Generally, NFL teams give former first-round quarterbacks a second and even a third chance to earn a starting job if they have had a decent season or stretch of games on their resume,” Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton highlighted. “Teddy Bridgewater (No. 32 overall in 2014), Jameis Winston (No. 1 overall in 2015), and Sam Darnold (No. 3 overall in 2018) flamed out with the teams that drafted them because of performance or injury—all of them opened the 2021 season as starters for new clubs. Bridgewater served as the opening-week signal-caller for a third team,” wrote Moton.
Will New York Make the Move?
Of course, Trubisky’s connection to Schoen and Giants head coach Brian Daboll is well documented. The former Bears starter joined the Bills last offseason in large part to work with Daboll, who was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator at the time. Then, there’s also the matter of Schoen showing an affinity for his former players. Since taking the reigns in New York, the Giants have signed six players — five of which have had previous stints with the Bills.
Trubisky makes sense on a number of levels for the Giants. For starters, the team can’t continue to opt for bottom-tier backups/low-upside players to fill out their quarterback depth chart. The ineptitude under center when Jones was sidelined a season ago should not be accepted moving forward. Secondly, Trubisky wasn’t nearly as bad as Matt Nagy and the Bears tried to paint him to be. Over his final three seasons in Chicago, he helped guide the Bears to two postseason appearances and an impressive 25-13 record. Over that span (39 games, 38 starts), he accounted for 63 total touchdowns to 37 turnovers and earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2018.
With all that said, the Giants are in a tough place when it comes to their salary cap situation, and the way Trubisky’s impending contract looks to be shaping up, he may very well find himself out of New York’s price range.
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Giants ‘in Mix’ to Add Former No. 2 Overall Pick at QB, Says Insiders