The Pittsburgh Steelers were lucky to have 18 seasons of consistent quarterback play with Ben Roethlisberger under center. When he retired at the end of the 2021 season, it was obvious the team was going to be in a bit of a rebuilding period as they looked for their new quarterback. Then quickly into the start of the offseason, the Steelers signed Mitch Trubisky, who had been with the Buffalo Bills. In addition to Trubisky, they were able to draft quarterback Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh with their first-round selection in 2022.
From the start, it seemed that the plan was for the Steelers to use Trubisky while they allowed Pickett time to develop, and become comfortable as a quarterback in the NFL. Unfortunately, Trubisky underperformed almost from the start and ended up being benched halfway through the fourth game of the season in favor of Pickett.
Trubisky was a former first-round selection in 2017 by the Chicago Bears. While he had failed to live up to expectations since entering the NFL, many believe he had what it could take to lead the Steelers until Pickett was ready. His situation in Chicago in regards to coaching and guiding his development had been less than ideal and some thought the opportunity in Pittsburgh would be the spark he needed. Unfortunately, according to one Steelers insider, it appears that some actions on the part of the organization may have helped fuel Trubisky’s concern and had him paranoid, looking over his shoulder.
Steelers’ Mitch Trubisky Was Asked To Perform A Questionable Task
Trubisky had shown flashes of excellent play since joining the league, it wasn’t like it was all bad. During his second season, in 2018, he helped lead the Bears to a divisional title, their first since 2010. He was selected for the Pro Bowl that year as a result of his strong gameplay. However, his biggest issue was that he was inconsistent, and that made it difficult to rely on him.
Gerry Dulac, who is a Steelers beat reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show to discuss the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh. Rich Eisen asked Dulac about a rumor he heard, that Trubisky was asked to send a welcome text to Pickett when he was drafted. Dulac said the story is 100% true.
“It not only really happened, it was what I was told by two people who would know. The other part of that message that was probably more surprising to me was the mere fact that we’re talking one month after they jumped into free agency and signed him immediately to be that quarterback that when they draft Kenny, he receives a message from somebody who would matter to say, ‘Now we have Kenny Pickett, could you text him and congratulate him.’ No wonder Mitch Trubisky spent the next four or five months looking over his shoulder as to when all that was going to come down. To me, to do that, that was not just tone deaf, and believe me, that did happen.”
Eisen asked Dulac what were the “other things” that Trubisky was asked to do in regards to Pickett joining the team and Dulac laughed and said he can’t put the rest of it out there.
If true, it is interesting that the Steelers would struggle with acclimating their new quarterbacks to the team, especially after the frosty reception that Roethlisberger supposedly gave Mason Rudolph when he was drafted. While the situation was different because Roethlisberger was not in danger of losing the starting job, you would still think the organization might have learned something from that.
Trubisky has since been released from the Steelers and the team will be looking for another quarterback or two to add to the roster for 2024. It is still unclear if they will re-sign Rudolph, who won three straight to end the 2023 season. Regardless of whether they bring in a vet like Justin Fields or draft a rookie, let’s hope they manage the introduction part a bit better next time.
