Steelers Linked to Former Rival QB as Mitch Trubisky Replacement

Getty Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are interested in bringing back Bud Dupree.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been connected to several different quarterbacks as possible options to be the team’s new backup next season.

Add another one to the list.

The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo argued on February 17 that the Steelers should target former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.

“[Mitch] Trubisky’s cap hit is just too much to pay someone to wear a hat and hold a clipboard. If I’m the Steelers, I’m targeting a veteran like Andy Dalton, who counted just $3 million against the cap last year,” DeFabo wrote. “That’s a good value for a guy who hopefully never sees a game rep and, if he does, has the experience to be an effective game manager.

“Someone in that mold would make sense behind Kenny Pickett.”

Dalton started 14 games for the New Orleans Saints in 2022. He posted a 6-8 record with 2,871 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

How Dalton Fits With the Steelers

Kenny Pickett still has to convince a large portion of fans that he will be Pittsburgh’s next franchise quarterback. But there’s little doubt that he will be the team’s starter in 2023.

Pickett must receive all the starter repetitions this coming season in order to grow. So the ideal backup quarterback for the Steelers is a veteran who can play on a moment’s notice, be satisfied with perhaps minimal playing time and come cheaply.

Dalton appears to check most, if not all, of those boxes.

The 35-year-old signal caller received another chance to start with the Saints in 2022, but signed in New Orleans to be Jameis Winston’s backup.

The previous two years, Dalton started a total of 15 games for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. If all goes well with Pickett, Dalton won’t receive that much playing time in Pittsburgh.

But like New Orleans, Dalton signed with Dallas and Chicago to be backups to younger quarterbacks.

With the Bengals, Dalton recorded two 4,000-yard passing seasons and one 30-touchdown campaign. He has 12 years of NFL experience and could be an excellent resource for Pickett.

There may not be a better backup quarterback on the market either. Dalton owns an 83-77-2 career record. He went a combined 13-16 with the Cowboys, Bears and Saints.

Steelers to Release Trubisky?

Of course, any talk of adding Dalton works under the assumption the Steelers cut Trubisky, who is the team’s current backup veteran signal caller.

In addition to DeFabo, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly argued the team should move on from Trubisky for 2023.

“I know it could create an issue later in the season, but cutting Trubisky and banking $8 million (just $2.625 million in dead money) seems like a no-brainer to me,” Kaboly wrote. “First, who knows if he even wants to be here anymore? And second, I find it difficult to allot that kind of money to a player who might not play the entire season.”

As Kaboly explained, the Steelers will create $8 million in cap space if they cut Trubisky. That’s significant considering the team possesses under $1 million in space as of February 17.

Most analysts and Steelers insiders have argued that they should release Trubisky even though that will leave the team with no backup quarterback entering free agency. The expectation is Mason Rudolph will depart Pittsburgh in March as well.

Spotrac projected Dalton’s market value to be $6.8 million. He signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Bears in 2021, but with the Cowboys and Saints, Dalton agreed to one-year deals that held $3 million cap hits.