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The Pittsburgh Steelers are set for a transitional campaign when the 2022 NFL season arrives. With longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger gone, the Steelers are looking for their next quarterback of the future.
The Steelers selected Kenny Pickett with their first pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, implying that he will be their guy moving forward. Whether Pickett plays much during the 2022 season remains to be seen, though, as Pittsburgh has a pair of veteran quarterbacks in Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph who will presumably be competing for the starting job as well.
As of right now, it seems like Trubisky, who was the second overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, will have the inside track to be the team's starter come Week 1. But Trubisky is going to have to prove he can play after spending all of last season as a backup for Josh Allen on the Buffalo Bills. That's a big reason why Trubisky is the player on the Steelers with the most to prove heading into training camp.
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Steelers player with the most to prove at training camp: Mitch Trubisky
Trubisky's career hasn't gone the way many folks expected it would. As previously mentioned, he was the second overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, taken ahead of the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, both of whom have had far better starts to their career than Trubisky. It certainly wasn't a good look for Chicago to have missed so badly on Trubisky.
Trubisky's time with Chicago wasn't always bad, as he led the Bears to the playoffs twice during his four season stint there. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2018, which was easily his best season with the Bears. But he was far too inconsistent, and Chicago ultimately decided to move on from him after the 2020 season, and ended up drafting Justin Fields as his replacement.
Trubisky latched on with the Bills last season as a backup quarterback, and played sparingly as a result. He only attempted eight passes on the season, one of which was an interception. It was certainly a season to forget for Trubisky.
Heading into free agency, though, it seemed like there would be a couple spots Trubisky could land in which he would have an opportunity to compete for a starting job come training camp. The Steelers were one of them, and they signed him to a two-year, $14.285 million deal while offering him a shot to compete for the starting job in training camp.
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Training camp is here now, and Trubisky is going to have to win the job away from Kenny Pickett, and to a lesser extent, Rudolph as well. Given Trubisky's prior struggles, and the fact that he's carrying around the second overall draft pick label, he has a lot to prove during training camp. This could be his last shot to prove he belongs in the NFL and can be a starting caliber NFL quarterback.
The good news for Trubisky is that he supposedly has the inside track to the starting job. The Steelers don't want to throw Kenny Pickett into the fire right away, and Rudolph has been far worse than Trubisky in limited action to start his career. If Trubisky plays well, or if his two competitors struggle, he should be the Week 1 starter.
Trubisky also landed in a pretty good spot as well. The Steelers have a playoff caliber roster, with their only real question mark being at quarterback. Trubisky will have a ton of weapons on offense, with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool being a potent wide receiver duo, and a deadly dual-threat running back behind him in Najee Harris.
Things may not have worked for Trubisky in Chicago because he admittedly didn't have a lot of weapons at his disposal. He doesn't have that same excuse here in Pittsburgh. Trubisky has all the tools at his disposal to succeed, and training camp will be the first place where he can prove he has what it takes to help the Steelers win this season.
Trubisky has already spent a season as a backup, and based on his prior production, he may not get another shot to start if he struggles with the Steelers. He has a lot going his way in terms of earning the starting gig, but he's going to have to earn it during training camp.
If Trubisky struggles in training camp and loses the starting job, he could be subjected to being a backup quarterback for the rest of his career. Trubisky has to prove he can still be a starter in the league, and training camp is where his road to redemption will begin.
