Everybody has a hare-brained plan re: The Steelers' quarterback position. Here is mine. But it’s not so hare-brained.
Chicago didn’t pick up the fifth-year option on QB Mitch Trubisky, the second pick overall in 2017. He’s been up and down during his brief NFL tenure, but was very good in 2018: 66.6 completion percentage, 24 touchdowns vs. 12 interceptions, 11-3 record, passer rating of 95.4 and his QBR was 70.8, fourth in the NFL. (I’d be more impressed if I knew exactly what QBR is.) His stats sat mostly in the league’s top half.
Trubisky backslid last season, as did the Bears: From 12-4 to 8-8. The Bears have made the playoffs once in nine years, and had winning seasons twice in that period.
Journeyman QB Nick Foles has joined Chicago this season. Between that and not picking up his option, Trubisky is being handed a one-way ticket to Palookaville.
Maybe that destination could be changed to Pittsburgh. The Bears aren’t often accused of making good decisions. Giving up on Trubisky at 25 seems premature. At the very least, not much patience is being shown despite a big investment.
Trubisky’s final season in Chicago could easily be a stink sandwich, especially from his point of view. When he walks, the price should be right. Pluck Trubisky out of free agency. Make him Ben Roethlisberger’s backup for a season. When Roethlisberger retires, Trubisky starts. Trubisky has talent and pedigree, will have done his internship on somebody else’s nickel, will be at an age where quarterbacks often start to peak, and you don’t have to use a premium draft choice to get him.
Trubisky has flaws. Otherwise he wouldn’t have one foot out the door in Chicago. But the Steelers have better infrastructure than the Bears.Superior coaching. (That’s the manure that got spread when the idea of Jameis Winston beckoned, anyway.)
This isn’t foolproof. But it makes more sense than Winston and his 30 interceptions. The timetable and finances seem better.
At the very least, it’s good talk-radio fodder.
Image via Getty Images.