Tag: Mitch Trubisky

Former Tar Heels QB Mitch Trubisky set to miss several weeks with knee injury

Mitch Trubisky won’t see the field much for the Buffalo Bills this year, a reality that became even more apparently with his preseason injury.

The 2016 UNC football season was enough for NFL scouts to say “Hey, Mitch Trubisky is one of the best draft prospects of this class.”

Trubisky is still in the NFL, but largely considered a bust due to consistent underwhelming performances.

The Chicago Bears then took a chance on the Tar Heels’ gunslinger, selecting him second overall. Trubisky played to a 4-8 record as Chicago’s starting quarterback, but then led his team to a playoff appearance in his second NFL season.

The Bears later declined to pick up Trubisky’s fifth-year option, effectively ending his time in Chicago. Trubisky spent a year backing up Josh Allen in Buffalo, then spent a couple years flip-flopping as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback.

With Pittsburgh doing a quarterback reset this offseason, Trubisky once again found himself the odd man out. He headed back to the Bills, where he will once again back up Allen.

The limited playing time Trubisky will get now has to wait a couple weeks, as he injured himself in Buffalo’s Week 2 Preseason Game against – who else – the Steelers.

If you want to watch the play Trubisky got injured on, here you go. It’s a clean football play, but an unfortunate injury nonetheless.

Buffalo luckily has a superstar in Allen slinging the rock, but the depth drops off behind him. Here’s to hoping Trubisky can resurrect his career in the Empire State.

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Steelers fans welcome back Mitch Trubisky with flurry of boos

Ex-Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky came onto the field at Acrisure Stadium to fans booing.

The anticipated weather has forced both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills to make last-minute adjustments to their starting lineup.

Much to the surprise of fans attending the Steelers-Bills matchup at Acrisure Stadium, Mitch Trubisky got the start over Josh Allen. A flurry of boos rang out when Trubisky was announced and Pittsburgh’s former quarterback trotted to the line.

The Steelers’ starters are also missing T.J. Watt. While Mike Tomlin said on Thursday that everyone healthy would play in tonight’s dress rehearsal matchup, Watt is not among them. Dressed in street clothes on the sideline, there’s no injury concern with Watt, but the forecasted weather could present a problem with field conditions.

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WATCH: Reliving a few NFL Draft memories for former Tar Heels

Make sure you watch this throwback video of former UNC football stars hearing their names called in the NFL Draft.

All of Tar Heel Nation’s attention on Thursday, April 25 was turned towards the NFL Draft.

Fans wondered where Drake Maye, the record-setting quarterback who played himself into Heisman Trophy contention and was the 2022 ACC Rookie and Player of the Year, would be selected. Several mock drafts had Maye to the New England Patriots, while others had the Washington Commanders calling his name.

When the third overall pick rolled around, it was New England who chose Maye. The Patriots are hoping he can break their bad luck streak at quarterback, with no one finding sustained success under center since Tom Brady briefly retired.

Maye isn’t the only former Tar Heel to hear his name called on Draft Day in the past 25 years.

Take a look at this highlight reel the UNC football program posted to its Instagram page, as a few North Carolina legends walked the stage during their draft days.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6MQfI8LIIb/

Julius Peppers is the greatest defensive player to come out of Chapel Hill since Lawrence Taylor, with both being amongst the top defensive players in college and NFL history.

Peppers ranks fourth in NFL history with 159.5 sacks, plus he played in 266 of 272 games – sixth-most by a defensive player. Peppers also had a penchant for terrorizing opponents in college, ranking second all-time in UNC history with 30.5 sacks.

Javonte Williams was part of a deadly rushing duo with Michael Carter, as both Tar Heels ran for 1,000 yards during the COVID-altered 2020 campaign. Williams is now starting for the Denver Broncos, totaling 2,501 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns.

Hakeem Nicks earned First Team All-ACC honors in 2008, catching 68 passes for 1,222 yards and 12 touchdowns that year at North Carolina. He was a Super Bowl Champion with the New York Giants in 2012, the highlight of his 7-year NFL career that included 5,081 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns.

Mitch Trubisky hasn’t played to the standards of the 2017 NFL Draft’s second overall pick, only eclipsing 3,000 yards in a season twice (2018, 2019). He started for one season at UNC, posting 3,748 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, then has bounced around since the Chicago Bears selected him.

Josh Downs is the latest talented wide receiver to come out of Chapel Hill, with the Indianapolis Colts selecting him in the third round of last year’s NFL Draft.

Downs was a 2-time, First Team All-ACC honoree (2021, 2022), ending his Tar Heel career with 2,483 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. Downs quickly ascended up Indy’s depth chart to the number two receiver behind Michael Pittman Jr., finishing his rookie season with 771 receiving yards (seventh-most amongst rookie pass-catchers) and two touchdowns.

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Former Bills QB Kyle Allen signs with Steelers

Former #Bills QB Kyle Allen signs with #Steelers:

Kyle Allen was likely not coming back to the Buffalo Bills. Now he certainly is not.

In a bit of an ironic twist, Allen has signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a free agent.

Allen will have a chance to take the roster spot of former Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky. The Bills signed Trubisky to backup Josh Allen moving forward after Allen was doing so last season.

Allen, 28, is a six-year NFL veteran. He originally came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He spent his first two seasons with the Carolina Panthers and followed that up with two seasons with the Washington Commanders. He spent 2022 season with the Houston Texans.

In 19 career starts, Allen is 7-12. He has 4,734 career passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns to 21 interceptions.

However, Allen will not have a spot locked in for himself in Pittsburgh. Not only did the Steelers land Russell Wilson, they acquired Justin Fields too. It’s only Allen only makes their final roster if Pittsburgh decides to keep three quarterbacks.

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QB Mitch Trubisky opens up about ‘breakup’ with Steelers

Mitch Trubisky, the first of two starting QBs released from Pittsburgh, talked about his departure from the Steelers.

Mitch Trubisky, the first of two starting quarterbacks recently jettisoned from Pittsburgh, recently opened up about his “breakup” with the Steelers.

As is typical with NFL players, it seems Trubisky initially heard through the grapevine — not directly from the Steelers — that the team was looking to move on.

“There were rumblings that they were going to do it,” Trubisky said in a Buffalo Bills press conference on March 7. “In my mindset, if it’s going to happen, it’s probably more beneficial to do it sooner rather than later… it was beneficial for both sides in the end.”

The Steelers respected Trubisky enough to release him ahead of free agency so he could get the process of speaking with other teams rolling.

It wasn’t long before Trubisky returned to Buffalo — where he was once Josh Allen’s backup for a season before landing with the Steelers — and signed a two-year, $5.25 million contract. When Pittsburgh signed him in March 2022, it was on a deal nearly three times the value, at $14.28 million.

“I was thankful the Steelers released earlier than free agency actually started,” said Trubisky. “My agent was able to start talking to some teams. I took a very relaxed approach. I just had a feeling that I would end up exactly where I was supposed to be… It felt like coming home in the end.”

Trubisky had some preferred teams in mind, but rejoining Allen and the Bills was a “no-brainer.” He and the two-time Pro Bowler had kept in touch during his two seasons with the Steelers.

While his time in Pittsburgh wasn’t successful from a career standpoint, Trubisky learned a lot about himself and what he needs from a team.

“I definitely had some ups and downs in Pittsburgh. I learned a lot more about what not to do and things I don’t like necessarily. Just being able to voice those opinions and have those opinions be heard, I think, is important.”

Trubisky intimated that his voice wasn’t heard in Pittsburgh. Maybe he should’ve spoken a little louder.

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The Steelers must practice patience with the quarterback position

Are the Steelers going to rush into a signing and regret it like they did in 2022?

The Pittsburgh Steelers were busy on Friday with roster moves as well as having a meeting with former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. The Wilson news has fans chomping at the bit for the Steelers to make a move and sign Wilson to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2024.

And all we have to say is Pittsburgh needs to practice a little patience with the quarterback position this offseason. The last time the Steelers were at a crossroads at the quarterback position was in 2022. Ben Roethlisberger retired and the Steelers had absolutely no contingency play on the roster.

So what do they do? They sign veteran Mitch Trubisky on the first day of free agency and then drafted Kenny Pickett as the first quarterback off the board in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. A draft where almost all of the top quarterbacks taken weren’t in the first round (Pickett the only one) and most of them have turned out to be busts.

Fast forward to now and Trubisky proved to be a bust and is now a backup with the Buffalo Bills and Pickett’s poor play is why we are even talking about Wilson.

This isn’t to say the Steelers shouldn’t sign Wilson. But if we learned anything from 2022, getting impatient doesn’t work. There are several interesting veteran quarterback prospects out there and we hope that the Steelers at least do their work on all of them and don’t get tunnel vision for Wilson and perhaps miss out on a better opportunity.

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Former UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky heading back to Buffalo

Former UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky backed up Josh Allen in 2021. He heads back to the Buffalo Bills, signing a deal on Thursday, March 7.

Since his 4-year run as starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears came to an end, it’s safe to say the NFL hasn’t really worked out for former UNC gunslinger Mitch Trubisky.

After Marquise Williams graduated in 2016, Trubisky took over as the Tar Heels’ starter. Trubisky threw for 3,748 yards and 30 touchdowns to just six interceptions, which stands as the second-highest, single-season total in program history.

Fans wondered in Trubisky would come back to Chapel Hill, but his numbers were good enough to put him in the NFL. There were several talented quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL Draft, but was Trubisky really the best?

Chicago thought so, taking Trubisky second overall. This was ahead of current Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and future Hall-of-Famer Patrick Mahomes.

Trubisky took the Bears to the NFL Playoffs in 2018 and 2020, but failed to win either game. He was a solid quarterback with just one year of starting college experience under his belt, but not playing at the level of a second overall pick.

After backing up Josh Allen in Buffalo during 2021 and a subpar, 2-year run with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Trubisky is back in Buffalo.

Trubisky signed a 2-year deal on Thursday, March 7, providing the Bills with a significantly better insurance option than Kyle Allen.

I really want Trubisky to succeed, as he showed Tar Heel Nation his promise in just one season, but his recent track record isn’t promising. He hasn’t thrown for more touchdowns than interceptions since 2020 (16-to-8), his last season in the Windy City.

Inconsistent play last year forced Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to play quarterback carousel, going from Kenny Pickett to Trubisky, then to Mason Rudolph, who actually led Pittsburgh to the Postseason.

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Ex-Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky lands back in Buffalo

Mitch Trubisky, the once-starting quarterback the Steelers released in February, has found a new team.

Mitch Trubisky, the once-starting quarterback the Pittsburgh Steelers released in February, has found a new team. Well, a new-old team.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Buffalo Bills have agreed to terms with Trubisky.

Trubisky’s acquisition is much like his first time around with the club. Buffalo signed him as a free agent in March 2021 where he backed up Josh Allen and appeared in six games.

His release saved the Steelers $3 million in salary cap space but left them with only one quarterback on the roster in Kenny Pickett.

Pittsburgh now has to sign three more quarterbacks before the start of organized team activities (OTAs) in May.

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Drake Maye addresses fan concerns about Bears drafting another UNC QB

Drake Maye had a message for Bears fans concerned about the team potentially drafting another North Carolina QB after Mitch Trubisky.

It’s been a busy and important week for the Chicago Bears at the NFL Scouting Combine as they near a franchise-altering decision at quarterback.

While the expectation is the Bears will trade Justin Fields and draft USC’s Caleb Williams with the first overall pick, one player flying under the radar is North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who’s certainly in consideration.

Of course, there’s plenty of hesitation on Bears fans’ part given Maye is a UNC product like Mitchell Trubisky, the former No. 2 pick by Chicago in 2017, who’s considered one of the bigger busts in team history.

But Maye had a message for Bears fans concerned about the team drafting another UNC quarterback — and it somehow being indicative of a mistake.

“I think people analyze the helmet more than the player,” Maye told reporters Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Maye went on to say that he’s a “big fan” of Trubisky and has been in contact with him this last year, but he added “we’re different players, different people.”

Maye confirmed that he had a formal meeting with the Bears at the combine, where he said he tried to let them know who he is as a person. He felt they didn’t know much about him — pretty much because they haven’t gotten the chance to spend time with him yet. But that should change as this pre-draft process progresses.

“Great sports town,” Maye said, via Chris Emma. “Chicago is as good as it gets. I just went in there and let them know who I was.”