After Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced Kenny Pickett as the starter for Week 5, that now leaves two veteran quarterbacks on the bench. Mitch Trubisky started the first four games before Tomlin benched him at halftime of the Week 4 loss to the New York Jets. Behind him, Mason Rudolph currently stands as the team's third-string quarterback.
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Both quarterbacks bring plenty of starting experience, as Trubisky has started 54 games in his six-year NFL career. Rudolph's starts have all come at the hands of an injury to the now-retired Ben Roethlisberger, which has been 10 in total. He's still a veteran in the league at this point though, and at times, he looked like the team's best quarterback at training camp in Latrobe.
Now, the team could look to trade one of their veteran quarterbacks. In particular, the New York Giants and New England Patriots are facing a slew of injuries at their quarterback position. For the Giants, starter Daniel Jones left their Week 4 victory with an ankle sprain. As a result, veteran Tyrod Taylor came in against the Chicago Bears and had a nasty collision. He's now in concussion protocol, so both of their statuses are up in the air for Week 5.
As for the Patriots, their two quarterbacks are facing similar situations: the starter has an ankle sprain and the backup has a concussion. Mac Jones missed Week 4 with a severe high ankle sprain, a bit more severe than Taylor's. He left the field in immense pain in Week 3, as shown below. As a result, it's hard to see him returning to action as soon as Week 5.
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Brian Hoyer started for them against the Green Bay Packers and was knocked out of the game early with a concussion. Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe stepped in, and the offense failed to do much through the air.
It's unlikely these teams will trade for a quarterback, as both situations seem to be short-term. With that being said, the Giants had to deploy starting RB Saquon Barkley as their emergency quarterback on Sunday after the injuries to their two QB's. If those two are ruled out for Week 5, it's entirely possible for them to enter the trade market. There was some mutual interest in the off-season between Trubisky and the Giants before he ended up coming to Pittsburgh.
Trubisky was interested in being back with Brian Daboll, whom the Giants hired as their head coach this off-season. Daboll and Trubisky spent the 2021 season together with the Buffalo Bills, so there's a connection there. If Daboll feels the need to bring in a third quarterback via trade, Trubisky makes the most sense there. That wouldn't be too surprising either, as the first-year head coach has praised the veteran quarterback quite a bit in the past.
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In the end, Trubisky did only sign a two-year, $14 million deal in the off-season. That makes his contract easily movable, and whoever trades for him, could get one extra year from him if they wanted. That does add some value, but it's unlikely either the Giants or Patriots would need him more than a week or two. Because of that, it's hard to imagine the Steelers getting anything more than a seventh-round draft pick.
Should the Steelers reach out to these teams about one of their QB's? Who would you be more willing to move on from? What trade would make the most sense? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below, as well as on our social media sites!
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