Steelers Recent Cut Mitchell Trubisky Now Could Land Back In AFC North With Rival Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers have ended the Mitch Trubisky experiment after just two seasons in the Steel City. The former Chicago Bears' number two overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft was the first starting quarterback for the franchise in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. He was handed his release papers in a mutual agreement to part ways on Monday after playing 12 games with seven starts. The writing was on the wall for Trubisky to leave Pittsburgh after he was benched for Mason Rudolph down the stretch. While things didn't go well for the signal-caller in Pittsburgh, he could still be an attractive option as a backup quarterback for another NFL team. 

Andy Baskin and Fox Sports Ohio's Jeff Phelps host a show on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan. During a segment on their show on Tuesday talking about the quarterback play the Browns got from Deshaun Watson, PJ Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Joe Flacco, they ventured into chatter about who the quarterbacks on the roster will be for 2024. Watson and Thompson-Robinson are under contract until 2026, but Walker and Flacco are both set to be free agents. Phelps threw out Trubisky as a strong possibility. 

"I know Mitch [Trubisky] has had a rough go of it, but he was above .500 as the starting quarterback in Chicago," Phelps mentioned. "You could do a lot worse than Trubisky as your backup quarterback. I know it didn't work in Pittsburgh. What did offensively?"

Phelps said that he thinks the Browns are looking for someone who can win games for them if Watson goes down again, like he did in the 2023 season. He pointed out that there's a pretty good team in place around the quarterback position that helped them win 11 games while starting four different guys.

Trubisky struggled to do that in 2023. He came in for an injured Kenny Pickett in Week 4 against the Houston Texans in a game that was already decided. He came in relief again of Pickett at halftime against the Jacksonville Jaguars and gave the team a glimmer of a comeback effort before throwing an interception that sealed the team's fate. He was downright awful in starts against the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, which cost him the starting job. He finished the season with an 0-2 record as a starter.

Things didn't go well for Trubisky as a starter in the 2022 season either, but he came in as a backup and played exceptionally well on a few occasions. He was thrust into action in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finished the game 9 of 12 for 144 yards and a touchdown. He played maybe his best game as a Steeler stepping in for Pickett against the Carolina Panthers, finishing 17 of 22 for 179 yards and a rushing touchdown. 

Former Steelers QB Trubisky Has Some Connections That Could Lead Him To The Browns

The first obvious connection many will have for Trubisky to the Browns is that he is an Ohio native, hailing from Mentor, which is just a half-hour drive along the shore of Lake Erie from Cleveland. He told ESPN in 2017 before his first-ever game against his hometown team that he wasn't a huge Browns fan growing up. Even if he wasn't the biggest fan of the team, he might still have an interest in playing even closer to home. 

The other connection that Phelps pointed out is with the Browns' new Offensive Coordinator, Ken Dorsey. The two overlapped in Buffalo when Trubisky was brought in to backup Josh Allen in 2021. Dorsey was the quarterbacks coach at the time. 

Trubisky will likely get another shot somewhere, whether that's with the Browns or elsewhere. Too many NFL teams will think like Phelps that Trubisky has made the best of bad situations and teams will think they have the support system to at least capture some of the talent that helped make him the number two pick in 2017. 

Do you think the Browns could be a landing spot for Trubisky? Do you think he will get a new job somewhere? Comment below!     

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