The Buffalo Bills have agreed to a contract with former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky, according to a report by Mike Garafalo of NFL.com. Terms of the contract have not yet been reported, and it cannot be made official until the start of the new league year on March 13.
The Bills were able to contact Trubisky, who played with the team in 2021, earlier than the start of the usual contact period because the Steelers cut Trubisky last month.
“The Steelers cut Trubisky early to give him a shot to find his next gig before free agency begins,” Garafalo wrote. “He’s done just that.”
Trubisky, 29, started two games and made three relief appearances for the Steelers in 2023. He filled in for Kenny Pickett three times when the Steelers’ starter left the game with an injury, and after Pickett suffered a significant ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 3, Trubisky became the Steelers’ starter.
Things didn’t go well for Trubisky or the Steelers, as the team lost to the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts in consecutive weeks, seeing their playoff hopes pushed to the brink. Trubisky was benched at the end of the Colts game in favor of Mason Rudolph and did not return to action in 2023.
On the season, Trubisky completed 67 of 107 passes for 632 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions. The Steelers lost all five games in which he appeared.
The miserable 2023 season came on the heels of a disappointing 2022, as well. Trubisky was signed in 2022 with the intention of being the team’s starting quarterback, but after the team drafted Pickett in the first round, Trubisky got the hook just four games into the season with a 1-3 record.
He ended up returning for three relief appearances, filling in for Pickett to mixed results. He helped out-duel Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6, throwing for 144 yards and a touchdown in one half for his best statistical performance as a Steelers. He also helped lead a conservative ground-attack game plan over the Carolina Panthers in Week 15.
But when Pickett suffered a concussion early in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13, Trubisky threw three interceptions, and the Ravens beat the Steelers in the game that ultimately kept them out of the playoffs in 2022.
The interceptions ended up being the biggest bugaboo for Trubisky over his Steelers tenure. He threw 10 picks in 287 Pittsburgh attempts, or 3.5% of the time. He had throw interceptions in only 2.3% of his drop backs as a four-year starter with the Chicago Bears from 2017-20.
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