Coming off their bye week, the 2-6 Pittsburgh Steelers hope to get their 2022 season back on course against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, hopefully with linebacker TJ Watt back from injury. Preparing for the Saints' offense is no easy task, particularly with a Swiss Army knife-type weapon like Taysom Hill in the fold to account for. However, head coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are doing their best to prepare for Hill unconventionally. According to Brian Batko of the Post-Gazette, backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is practicing as a Hill stand-in this week.
As Batko notes, Trubisky is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds Trubisky, remarkably similar to the stature of Hill, who is listed at 6-for-2 and 221 pounds. Though Trubisky is about as good of a stand-in for Hill as you can ask for in most measures, Steelers players pointed out that Trubisky is not quite as effective in that hybrid role.
“I don't think he's caught anything,” linebacker Myles Jack said of Mitchell Trubisky. “I think he's had one or two 5-plus yard carries, but we've been getting Mitch. He's definitely giving us a hell of a look. Nobody can recreate what Taysom Hill does. He's a one-of-a-kind player. But absolutely, [Trubisky] can play with the read-option, do that type of thing. That's right up his alley.”
The former BYU quarterback signed with the Saints in 2017 as an undrafted free agent, and ever since he entered the NFL, Hill has been nothing short of a true hybrid player. In Hill's career, he has accumulated 2126 passing yards, 1526 rushing yards, and an additional 404 yards on 34 receptions in the receiving game. With his multifaceted skill set, opposing defenses have a tough time slowing down Taysom Hill.
While it is an unorthodox way of preparing for the Saints, the efforts of Tomlin and the Steelers are undoubtedly admirable. But will the Steelers be able to slow down the Saints on Sunday?
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