Featured photo by Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
Ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been trying to fill the void left by their franchise quarterback.
They thought they achieved that with relative ease in the subsequent offseason, when they signed Mitch Trubisky in free agency and drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 draft.
Trubisky was supposed to serve as a bridge quarterback. Having been a very high pick himself, perhaps he could revive his NFL career for a year in Pittsburgh and mentor the young Pickett as he grew into the next great quarterback for the Steelers.
That plan didn’t work. Trubisky was benched after just three and a half games, and Pickett wasn’t much better in the long run. Neither one of them lasted more than two years in Pittsburgh.
After a near god-like run from Mason Rudolph, who turned from third string quarterback to cult hero down the stretch in 2023, the Steelers knew that Pickett wasn’t the answer.
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