Getty Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky warming up ahead of an NFL game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced on February, 12 that they released quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
Connor Hughes of SNY listed him as a “potential backup QB option” for the New York Jets this offseason. Rich Cimini of ESPN said on X previously Twitter, “Add another name to the backup-QB market, where the Jets will be shopping in due time.”
Trubisky Is an Interesting Name for the Jets to Consider
The former North Carolina quarterback originally entered the NFL as the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Trubisky, 29, has been in the league for seven years. During that period he has served as both a starting quarterback and more recently as a backup.
In 2018 he earned the only Pro Bowl nomination of his career and he took the Chicago Bears to the postseason.
Trubisky has appeared in 69 games and has started in 57 of those contests. He has a career completion percentage of 64.1%, has thrown for 12,536 passing yards, and has a 72 touchdown to 48 interception ratio.
He was in the middle of a two-year $11.25 million contract when the Steelers cut ties with him this offseason.
Unique Loophole the Jets Could Take Advantage Of
The new league doesn’t start for the NFL until Wednesday, March 13 at 4:00 pm. That is when teams can start to officially sign and trade players.
However, the Jets could get a jump start on that period. Any players that are released by their teams are immediately eligible to be added to teams rosters. For example, Trubisky can sign a contract with a brand new team right now.
The Steelers actually did him a favor by cutting him in February because he has a month to find his next NFL home. Think of it like a game of musical chairs. There are only so many backup or starting quarterback slots in the league.
The music has already started playing and when it inevitably stops at some point this offseason some teams are going to be left out to dry.
Trubisky is an interesting candidate because he has a pedigree as a former first-rounder. He has experience in the league. Trubisky would obviously be a massive upgrade at the backup quarterback position. The Jets have to determine if he is there guy.
The good news is the green and white could check a huge item off its bucket list early. The bad news is the Jets won’t know who else will be available when the new league year starts. Anything can happen and the Jets would be out of the market if they added Trubisky.
“To me, that would be one of the checkmarks for Joe Douglas. Be aggressive. Do what you have to do there [to add a proven backup quarterback],” NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo explained to Jets team reporter Ethan Greenberg. “It’s not like your starting QB is going to be threatened by it. [Aaron Rodgers] understands the situation. It’s not like 4-5 years ago whatever it was in Green Bay, it’ll be a different story. That I would definitely put on the checklist & that’s what I’d be most aggressive with if I was Joe Douglas.”
.@MikeGarafolo told @EGreenbergJets that he expects #Jets GM Joe Douglas to be ‘borderline aggressive’ this offseason but his big question is about NYJ’s succession plan at the quarterback position.
‘To me that would be one of the checkmarks for Joe Douglas. Be aggressive. Do…