For the 2024 season, former quarterback Mitch Trubisky of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be going back to a place he is familiar with.
On March 6, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that Trubisky had accepted a contract to rejoin the Buffalo Bills. During the 2021 season, Trubisky was Buffalo’s backup signal caller.
“Sources say that the Bills and quarterback Mitch Trubisky have agreed terms for Trubisky to return to Buffalo,” Garafolo said on X (previously Twitter). Tim Graham said they were having discussions. Deal completed now.
In order to give Trubisky a chance to find a new job before free agency opens, the Steelers released him early. He has actually done it.
Trubisky played for the Steelers for the previous two seasons. He began the 2022 season as the team’s starting quarterback, but in Week 4, at halftime, rookie Kenny Pickett took his spot.
Strangely, the following week against the Bills was Pickett’s first start.
Following that, Trubisky appeared in five relief games and started three more games for the Steelers in the following 27 games of the 2022–2023 season. He showed extremely variable performances.
In the 14th and 15th weeks of the 2023 season, Trubisky took over for an ailing Pickett. But in Week 15, with the Steelers behind by more than two touchdowns, Mason Rudolph was benched in favor of Trubisky by head coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers ended the season on a three-game winning run under Rudolph’s direction.
Trubisky was cut by the Steelers on February 12.
Trubisky had a 2-5 record as a starter when he left Pittsburgh. In 12 games, he averaged 6.6 yards per pass, 8 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also recorded a 64.1% completion rate.
QB Mitchell Trubisky is returning to the Buffalo Bills.
During his seven-year career, Trubisky’s one and only campaign with the Bills was the only one in which he failed to make a start. Trubisky made only eight throw attempts in six games as Josh Allen’s backup in 2021.
Still, he didn’t seem out of place in Buffalo despite his lack of playing time. Grant Gordon of NFL.com stated on March 6 that Trubisky merited a second opportunity as a starter with the Steelers since he “showed promise in Buffalo” despite playing limited snaps during the regular season.
Trubisky’s return to Buffalo means that the Bills will once again have a highly skilled quarterback to back up Allen. Although Kyle Allen was Buffalo’s backup last season, he is a free agent this offseason.
Case Keenum served as Allen’s backup in 2022.
However, Trubisky could go through a phase in 2024 where he primarily uses a clipboard. Since the 2019 season started, Allen has only missed one start.
It would be fascinating to watch whether Trubisky’s continued placement behind Allen results in Trubisky being given another shot to start in the future. Though improbable given that Trubisky now has two distinct corporations where he lost his first job.
In the 2017 NFL Draft, he was selected by the Chicago Bears with the second overall pick. Trubisky started his debut season with a 4-8 record, but he went on to win in each of the following three seasons.
With 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2018, he led the Bears to an 11-3 record and was nominated to the Pro Bowl.
However, the Bears benched Trubisky in Week 3 of 2020, with a 16-point deficit to the Atlanta Falcons. After Trubisky was substituted, Nick Foles guided Chicago to a thrilling win.
Following an injury quarterback Nick Foles, Trubisky started the final six games of the regular season and led the Bears to the playoffs. However, after the season, Trubisky was let go by Chicago.
After losing his starting position with the Steelers, Trubisky got a start against the Carolina Panthers in Week 15 of 2022 and led a touchdown drive against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6 as a replacement for an injured Pickett.
But in 2023, Trubisky showed himself to be a subpar backup quarterback.
Trubisky played for the Steelers last season, but they lost all five of those games. His final pass attempt with Pittsburgh resulted in a misthrown interception.
Dave Holcomb is a sportswriter for Heavy.com who covers the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers. Holcomb, who is originally from Pittsburgh, has covered professional and collegiate sports for publications including Fansided, Rotowire, and Yardbarker. Additional information on Dave Holcomb
