The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation continues to garner the majority of attention in the Steel City this off-season. To be fair, it's the first competition at the position in nearly 20 years. Thankfully, training camp is near, so those conversations will be temporarily put to rest for awhile.
CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr compiled a list of the most overvalued players on each AFC team. For the Steelers, he chose off-season signee, Mitch Trubisky. Kerr had this to say on the North Carolina product:
"Of the 47 quarterbacks with more than 500 pass attempts, over the four years Trubisky started (2017-2020), he ranked 31st in passer rating (87.2), 26th in completion percentage (64%), 29th in touchdown percentage (4.1), and 37th in yards per attempt (6.73). Not exactly numbers beaming with confidence, but Trubisky appeared resurrected as a backup quarterback in Buffalo, learning new aspects of the game under Brian Daboll and the Bills' offensive coaching staff."
We get it, Trubisky isn't exactly an elite quarterback. However, there's more to the story, especially when it comes to his current situation.
First, he dealt with the inefficiencies of former head coach Matt Nagy in Chicago for the first few seasons of his career. Nagy was no help in trying to maximize the potential of a guy like Trubisky. Actually, the quarterback did (somehow) make the Pro Bowl in 2018 after a slew of injuries from other guys.
Aug 21, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) smiles after a touchdown against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
As Kerr stated, Brian Daboll and the Bills did seem to help Trubisky get back on track last season. He was able to sit behind an elite quarterback in Josh Allen. Trubisky was able to sit back and learn, as opposed to being forced into action. Kerr concluded with these thoughts on the Steelers quarterback:
"If anything, Trubisky can't be any worse than what [Ben] Roethlisberger was last season. In fact, the Steelers were wise to sign him to a short contract and draft the best available quarterback in the draft in Kenny Pickett -- as they were fortunate he fell to No. 20. For a team that always has playoff aspirations and exceeds expectations, are the Steelers really going to trust Trubisky to run this offense? Training camp will be very interesting if Trubisky is the No. 1 quarterback."
Is Trubisky the Steelers' most overvalued player?
Is Trubisky really the team's most overvalued player? I don't know about that, but to each their own. Trubisky hasn't been viewed as anything more than a short-term replacement at QB for Ben Roethlisberger. If he exceeds expectations and lives up to his second overall pick billing, then perhaps he has a long-term chance in Pittsburgh. No one is expecting that though, thus why the team selected Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Kenny Pickett, discusses future with team. Credit: NFL.com
The Steelers even provided extra insurance by picking another quarterback in the seventh round in Chris Oladokun. Veteran Mason Rudolph remains on the team, for now, as well. As a result, it's hard to identify Trubisky as the team's most overvalued player. The Steelers have several backup plans in place if the Trubisky experiment fails, beginning with Pickett. In fact, they may not even have to start him for any regular season games if Pickett wins the job out of camp.
So guys, what do you think on Trubisky being labeled as the team's most overvalued player? If not Trubisky, who do you think it is? Let us know your thoughts on the comments below, yinz!
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