Analysis
5/18/23
2 min read
Steelers GM Khan: Team Finishing Contract Extension with Mitchell Trubisky
The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to finalize a contract extension with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, general manager Omar Khan said in an interview on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. Trubisky is getting a two-year extension, NFL Media reported.
BREAKING: "We're finishing up an extension with Mitch Trubisky and that will be done here shortly" ~ Omar Khan#PMSLive #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/UVxo2bmYgu
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 18, 2023
"We feel good about our quarterback room, so that was an important piece," Khan told McAfee. "Obviously, Kenny Pickett is our starting quarterback, and we feel really good about Mitch Trubisky in the role he's in. [Trubisky] feels good about it. We feel really good about the quarterback room. That'll be done here shortly."
Trubisky had one year remaining on the contract he signed last offseason and has a $10.6 million cap hit for this season. However, the extension is expected to lower his 2023 cap number, The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov reported.
He will now be under contract for three years and $19.4 million, NFL Media reported. Trubisky can earn a total of $33 million over the length of the contract.
The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft played in seven games last season, making five starts. He finished with a 2-3 record while throwing four touchdown passes and five interceptions. Eventually, he was replaced by Pickett, who led the Steelers to a 7-5 record, keeping them in the AFC playoff race until Week 18.
Although Pickett is the Steelers' future, keeping Trubisky around makes sense, given Pickett's injury history. Pickett suffered two concussions in his rookie season behind the Steelers' porous offensive line, meaning having a backup who already knows the team's offense makes a ton of sense.
Pittsburgh tried to fix its offensive line this offseason. The team signed former Philadelphia Eagles' guard Isaac Seumalo to a three-year, $24 million deal and traded up in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft to select Georgia OT Broderick Jones.
The team also signed third-string QB Mason Rudolph to a one-year contract this week, keeping its entire quarterback from 2022 together for this season.
Trubisky's best season came in 2018 with the Chicago Bears when he finished 11-3 as a starter. He threw 24 touchdown passes and was voted to his only Pro Bowl. Although his days as a long-term starter are numbered, the Steelers clearly value Trubisky's contributions as a backup.
