Steelers keep making quarterback moves, sign backup to two-year extension

The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have completely settled their quarterback room over the past 48 hours. After bringing back veteran Mason Rudolph earlier in the week, the Steelers followed that up by re-signing backup Mitch Trubisky to a two-year contract extension on Thursday afternoon, according to NFL Network.

Along with locking in their top backup at a key position, the extension also helps the Steelers clear some salary cap room for the 2023 season as it is expected to reduce Trubisky's $10 million cap hit for the year. 

Trubisky was initially signed by the Steelers prior to the 2022 season to serve as the short-term replacement for Ben Roethlisberger. But when the team drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round it became clear that Trubisky was not going to be the Steelers' starter for very long.

And he wasn't.

Pickett ended up taking over the starting job four weeks into the season, and outside of a couple of injuries later in the year kept that job for the remainder of the season. He is set to be the team's unquestioned starter this season.

It still makes a lot of sense for the Steelers to have some experienced veteran backups behind Pickett, and they have two of them who are quite familiar with the system in Trubisky and Rudolph.

As promising as Pickett looked at times as a rookie, he is far from a sure thing when it comes to his development, and he also missed time on two different occasions as a rookie due to concussions. That uncertainty with his ceiling, as well as the injury concerns, make the backup quarterback spots even more important. 

Trubisky struggled at times in his debut season with the Steelers, but he has a winning record as a starter in his career and is a strong backup for a team with a young quarterback and playoff aspirations this season.