4. Steelers inked Mitch Trubisky to a new deal
Another move that, on the surface, isn’t going to be critical to the success of the team this year, the Mitch Trubisky extension was a savvy move. For starters, the Steelers didn’t have a quarterback under contract past this season outside of Kenny Pickett (and technically Tanner Morgan, but that is grasping at straws).
Getting Trubisky extended past this year provides a lot of security. While his days as a starter are seemingly over, he is arguably one of the best backups in the league. He can succeed in this offense off the bench, as evident by his game against Tampa Bay last year. Having that stable presence in the room behind Pickett is great.
The deal also lowers his cap hit this season, freeing up some space for some more moves and the usual chunk of space this team has during the season. Trubisky and Pickett seem to have a good working relationship, so keeping him around is a smart move. If for some reason he falls apart as a backup, the deal is also extremely easy to get out of
None of this even considers the actual numbers of the deal. Trubisky is signing an extremely team-friendly deal for a top backup quarterback. He is making just under 6.5 million a season now on this new deal, less than the likes of Jacoby Brissett and Taylor Heinicke. Again, this deal doesn’t move the needle all that much, but getting a good backup locked up for a few seasons on a friendly deal is deserving of some praise.