Why We're Still Smiling About the Mitch Trubisky Signing

To put it simply - I’m excited about this signing. I’ve always been a Trubisky fan and I really think he can do wonders here in Pittsburgh.

Given the state of the Steelers, I also agree with their decision not to mortgage the future for one of the big aforementioned fish. Trading for guys like Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers or Jimmy Garoppolo not only was going to cost the team a lot of money, but also draft picks, which is important to have when you’re trying to rebuild your offensive line - just like they did with signings Mason Cole and James Daniels. Sure, having one of those guys would be incredible, but I really don’t think the issue is always as black and white as who you have at quarterback. You can have one of the greatest quarterbacks, such as Aaron Rodgers, and continue to lose in the postseason.

I think we already know enough about Mason Rudolph. Don’t get me wrong, I know Mason has some talent. There were times last year where I actually thought they should put him in over Big Ben. Maybe it’s because we haven’t seen a whole lot of him recently, but that’s likely for good reason.

The most we saw of him was during the 2019-2020 season when Ben Roethlisberger suffered a season ending injury in a game against the Seattle Seahawks. Rudolph would play in 11 games for the rest of the season, all while sharing the starting spot with Devlin “Duck” Hodges. Two of those games would come after the infamous “helmet incident” with the Cleveland Browns. Thanks, Myles Garrett.

I just don’t know if he has what it takes to be a starting QB in this league, anywhere. Keep in mind, the roster was also much stronger when he was starting. They don’t have Maurkice Pouncey or David DeCastro anymore. Who knows if they’re going to have Tyson Alualu or Stephon Tuitt back next season. 

“If we started a season today, Mason would be our starter, and we’re excited to see where that can go,” GM Kevin Colbert said in an interview on February 21. 

Now, of course, he’s not going to come out and say, “We want someone else to take the job because we don’t feel Mason can,” but what really leads me to believe they had intentions of finding someone else is the fact that Trubisky didn’t just suddenly decide to test free agency. 

He has been on their free agency radar for a while now, so I have reason to believe that Colbert made that statement to humble Rudolph, all while digging deeper into the quarterback needs. 

With all of that considered, it’s a win - and the Steelers desperately needed one.