Steelers wave goodbye to Mitch Trubisky & more

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Jayson Erwin. Follow him on Twitter @JaysonErwin2002

The Steelers are NOT waiting around to make moves! The Steelers have released QB Mitch Trubisky, OL Chukwuma Okorafor, and P Pressley Harvin. The Steelers have made it clear that they're ready to start winning, not just in the regular season, but in the postseason too, with many moves to staff and now the players! Let's go over the history of these now-former Steelers and find the reason why they were released.

QB Mitchell Trubisky:



Before the 2022 season, the Steelers signed Mitch Trubisky, a former 1st round pick, pro bowler, and NVP (an essential trophy), and it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. The Steelers would draft Kenny Pickett to compete with Trubisky, but Trubisky would remain the starter for the first four games in 2022. The first four games would provide a total of a .58 completion rate, 653 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and two interceptions. It was an underwhelming start for the former NVP, as the Steelers started 1-3 and put in Kenny Pickett. Trubisky would only see two more games after being benched after an injury to Pickett, and he would have a total of a .75% completion rate, throw 455 yards, one passing touchdown, and three interceptions. It was an overall underwhelming first season for the former Tar Heel. 

His second season would feature him as the backup to Pickett and Mason Rudolph behind him in the depth chart. Trubisky would play in the Texans game after Pickett got hurt, but the game was already mostly over with the Texans decisively putting down the Steelers, and he only threw the ball five times for three catches for 18 total yards. Onto the week eight matchup versus the Jaguars, where Pickett got hurt early on, and Trubisky would come in. He would have a .56 completion rate, throw 138 yards, one passing touchdown, two interceptions, and a loss. Trubisky wouldn't see the field again until week thirteen when Pickett would get hurt again, and this time, it would take multiple weeks to heal. Trubisky would play three games against the Cardinals, the Patriots, and the Colts and wouldn't win any. Trubisky sported a .66% total completion rate, throwing 476 yards, three passing touchdowns, and three interceptions in his last three games. He would eventually be benched for the third-string QB, Mason Rudolph, who would go on to have MUCH better stats and even lead the Steelers to a playoff spot! 

Nearly two months after his last start, Trubisky would be released to free agency due to his overly conservative play style and decision-making. Trubisky's release frees up nearly $3 million for the Steelers cap room.

OL Chukwuma Okorafor:

Chukwuma Okorafor was drafted back in 2018 in the 3rd round by the Steelers, and in his six years with the black and gold, he had a lot of downs and few ups. He would get snaps in his first two years but mostly be behind Marcus Gilbert in 2018 and Matt Feiler in 2019. He finally got starter snaps when an early injury to Zach Banner made Chuk the next man up. He would allow 26 pressures, 18 hurries, five QB hits, and three sacks from 1,033 snaps. He would do fine in pass blocking, but run blocking could have been better. Overall, not a terrible season, but still a lot to be desired. 2021 would be his first entire season and would be an improvement: 23 pressures, 14 hurries, seven QB hits, and two sacks allowed from 1,078 snaps. The Steelers liked his play in the 2021 season and rewarded Chuk with a 3-year contract worth $29 million.

Next year, however, there would be a downgrade in play. Okorafor would allow 41 pressures, 33 hurries, five QB hits, and three sacks off 1,159 snaps. With his downplay from 2022 and Dan Moore struggling on the opposite side, the Steelers knew they needed offensive tackle help. The Steelers would trade up in the 2023 draft and draft OT Broderick Jones. Broderick would take over after week eight, moving Chuk down the depth chart. In his first eight games, Chuk would allow eleven pressures, nine hurries, and two sacks off 425 snaps.

After the 2023 season, Chukwuma would be released due to his inconsistent play, high cut value, and the Steelers trying to develop young QBs. Okorafor's release frees up nearly $9 million in cap space. 

P Pressley Harvin III:

Pressley Harvin was selected in the seventh round in 2021 and beat out long-time punter Jordan Berry. He would punt 70 times; his longest would go 64 yards (21st in the league), his average punt yards would go 42.6 yards (31st in the league), and 25 punts would go inside the 20-yard line (10th in the league). It was not a great first season for the former Yellow Jacket, but the 20 stat interested people in keeping him around. In his sophomore season, he would punt 69 times. Off those punts, his longest would go 69 yards (13th in the league), his average punt yards would be 44.5 yards (28th in the league), and 20 of his punts would go inside the 20-yard line (24th in the league). His best season? Possibly. But it looked like when he improved on one thing, the others got worse. 

In 2023, Harvin would punt a total of 78 times. Off those punts, his longest would go 63 yards (28th in the league), his average punt yards would be 43.8 yards (35th in the league), and 30 of his punts would go inside the 20-yard line (7th in the league). 

Another low season for Harvin would have the Steelers cutting their losses and releasing Harvin due to his inconsistent play and low yardage in punts. His release frees up about $1 million in cap space.

The total cap freed up from the release of Trubisky, Okorafor, and Harvin is up to nearly $13 million. Could there be a big move on the way with the releases? Could there be more releases on the horizon? What will happen to the new free agents on the market? Find out all this and more next time on Dragon B- I mean, Yinzer Crazy!