Getty Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
On Tuesday Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin formally named rookie first-round pick Kenny Trubisky as the team’s new starting quarterback, relegating Mitch Trubisky to the backup role against the Buffalo Bills this coming Sunday.
“In regards to the quarterback position, we made a change in-game (against the Jets) and Kenny will start this week,” Tomlin said during his regular weekly press conference, this after repeatedly called for patience with Trubisky and Pittsburgh’s work-in-progress offense. But Tomlin — and other members of the organization — ultimately lost patience, having watching the former No. 2 overall pick produce a 1-3 record and a 73.7 passer rating through the season’s first three-and-half games.
With the Kenny Pickett era now underway, where does that leave Trubisky?
“Don’t be shocked … if the Steelers end up moving Trubisky before the trade deadline, now less than a month away, with inevitable QB injuries mounting around the league and this team open to stockpiling more draft capital,” said NFL insider/analyst Jason La Canfora in his new column for the Washington Post.
That said, it’s worth noting that Tomlin took time on Tuesday to try to minimize Trubisky’s responsibility for the team’s struggles on offense.
“Mitch’s performance was a component of the decision (to change quarterbacks) but not the only component. I just wanted to be really clear there. Oftentimes the quarterback position gets too much credit (or) too much blame. We haven’t moved the ball fluidly enough to our liking. We hadn’t put enough points on the board. The quarterback is a component of that, but not the only component,” he concluded.
Assessing the Likelihood of a Mitch Trubisky Trade
Also arguing in favor of a potential trade is the fact that the Steelers are short on picks in the 2023 draft, having already dealt away their fifth-round selection for cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. In addition, Pittsburgh’s 2023 sixth-round pick was part of last month’s deal for outside linebacker Malik Reed, though the Steelers did get back a 2023 seventh-rounder in the trade.
Working against the idea that Trubisky will be traded before the deadline is that it would leave the Steelers with just one quarterback under contract for the 2023 season. Recall that third-stringer Mason Rudolph signed a one-year extension last year that binds him to the team through the 2022 season, which makes Rudolph a potential trade candidate himself.
Yet the organization might not be comfortable trying to finish out the season with just two quarterbacks, which could necessitate the signing of a street free agent. But if the Steelers are already out of the playoff picture after three or four more games, that might be less of a consideration than it is today.
Salary Cap Implications of a Mitch Trubisky (or Mason Rudolph) Trade
If the Steelers do deal Trubisky prior to the Nov. 1 trade deadline, they would incur a $2.625 million dead cap hit, as per overthecap.com, while saving the prorated portion of his $1.035 million salary. If he is traded anytime prior to the 2023 season, the team would save the $8 million salary he is scheduled to earn next year. (Unless he regains the QB1 role, he won’t earn the playing time/performance incentives that are in his contract, so those aren’t a consideration.)
If Mason Rudolph is traded before the deadline the Steelers would incur a $1.04 million dead money cap charge.