Steelers make another surprising quarterback decision after signing Mitchell Trubisky
The Steelers aren’t giving up on Dwayne Haskins just yet, putting in a free agency tender on the quarterback even after signing Mitchell Trubisky.
Pittsburgh faced the tough task of finding a new franchise quarterback after the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.
Where they’ve landed is…interesting.
The Steelers signed former Bears flameout Mitchell Trubisky as a free agent, giving him another chance to compete for a starting job in the NFL.
Then, on Tuesday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the team officially placed a free-agency tender on Dwayne Haskins, another reclamation project that hasn’t yielded results yet.
Steelers quarterback depth chart: PIT isn’t moving on from Dwayne Haskins
Haskins was drafted No. 15 overall by Washington in 2019. His first two years weren’t particularly promising as he started 13 games, throwing 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He was benched multiple times in 2020 while getting into trouble over COVID-19 protocols.
The former first-round pick was released after less than two years in the league.
Pittsburgh swooped in and signed Haskins at the start of 2021. While Roethlisberger was the incumbent starter, Haskins sat behind Mason Rudolph on the depth chart for the entire season.
Now, the Steelers quarterback room features two first-round busts and Mason Rudolph as they head towards a critical offseason.
- Mitchell Trubisky
- Mason Rudolph
- Dwayne Haskins
Taking a chance on Trubisky isn’t the most exciting move but it makes some sense. He and Rudolph can duke it out for the starting job and maybe, just maybe, they’ll come good.
Investing more time and money in Haskins is the head-scratcher. They paid him $850,000 in 2021. The tender gives him a significant pay raise to, presumably, end up as the third-string quarterback again.
The team could just as easily bring in a dark horse rookie draft pick on the cheap and try their luck that way. They’d have just as much of a chance of that working out as this play.
dark. Next. Ben Roethlisberger was winner of Tom Brady unretiring