When he agreed to two-year, $14 million deal with the Steelers, Mitch Trubisky had no idea the team would use their first-round choice on a quarterback. He knew it could happen, but the quarterback didn’t care.
“I knew coming in to the situation, wherever I was going to go, I would have to come in, compete, earn the trust of my teammates and get back on the field with hard work and my talent and being a leader on this team,” Trubisky said, via Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We didn’t have those (draft) conversations, but I knew it was a possibility wherever I went.”
The Steelers used the 20th overall choice on Kenny Pickett, who joins the competition with Trubisky and Mason Rudolph for the starting job. They also drafted South Dakota State quarterback Chris Oladokun in the seventh round.
“I really wasn’t surprised,” Trubisky said. “We needed to add to the quarterback room and that’s what we did.”
Trubisky, the No. 2 overall choice of the Bears in 2017, has the most NFL experience and the best resume of the three quarterbacks vying to replace Ben Roethlisberger. Trubisky has started 50 games and made the Pro Bowl in 2018 after a 12-4 season with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Rudolph has the most experience in the system as he is entering his fifth season in Pittsburgh. But he’s only 5-5-1 as a starter.