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Welcome to a new series for this season: “Quarterback Changes – Helpful or Hurtful?” Today is the last in a series of three where I’ll be breaking down one quarterback per conference each week to determine whether their addition to their new teams is helpful or hurtful and what their impact will be in their new homes.
Mitchell Trubisky (QB – PIT)
There hasn’t been a bigger question mark as to who the starting quarterback will be than in Pittsburgh. Like, legit question mark. We kind of knew that Baker Mayfield would be the starter in Carolina, so he doesn’t really count as a question mark. Head coach Mike Tomlin has been playing his cards close to the vest with this one.
The Steelers drafted rookie QB Kenny Pickett with their first pick in the 2022 NFL draft, and many saw him as the starting QB for this season. Well, the joke is on you, apparently.
While Trubisky hasn’t been officially named as the starting quarterback, he has been listed first on the Steelers’ depth chart, with backup QB Mason Rudolf initially listed next, then updated the list with Pickett as the backup. So at this point, it’s looking like it’s Trubisky’s job to lose.
Furthermore, the team voted Mitch as one of their captains, proving that the vets in the locker room have faith in Trubisky and trust him to lead them throughout the season. So, that’s good!
His story on the field may not play out like the team is hoping. However, he’s a somewhat mobile quarterback with a good receiving corps with Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth, and he has a star running back in Najee Harris. Trubisky has the ingredients to get the Steelers back to a winning status, but does he have the recipe?
We could talk about his stats, but there’s nothing exciting to talk about there. He hasn’t been relevant since 2019, and too much time has passed since we saw him snap the ball during the regular season. So, instead, let’s look at his preseason stats. Nevermind. That’s boring, too. Let’s just focus on the fact that the team loves him,0.02. and Tomlin trusts him. For now.
Marcus Mariota (QB – ATL)
It’s the curious case of Marcus Mariota in Atlanta this season. He started his career hot in Tennessee and, over the course of four seasons, slowly declined and lost the starting job to Ryan Tannehill. Then, after warming the bench for half a season in 2019, he went to warm a different bench in Las Vegas.
Now is his opportunity to start anew and prove he is still a viable quarterback. Unfortunately, he’ll be competing against himself because, well, he doesn’t really have any other competition. The Falcons drafted rookie QB Desmond Ridder 74th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. To Ridder’s surprise. He and his family were sadly sitting backstage when his name was called. It was incredibly heartwarming to watch his reaction. Anyway, good for him. Maybe.
Both quarterbacks are heading into the season with a mediocre team, very few receiving weapons (two, at best), a weak offensive line, an aging running back room and a snarky head coach. The season looks bleak for the Falcons, to say the least.
But what can Mariota provide? Let’s look at his stats when he was the starter in Tennessee.
• 2015: 2,818 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, 10 interceptions (okay…)
• 2016: 3,426 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, 9 interceptions (nice recovery!)
• 2017: 3,232 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, 15 interceptions (oof, what happened?)
• 2018: 2,528 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 8 interceptions (maybe we should give Tannehill a shot next year?)
• 2019: Played in 7 games, started 6. We don’t need to talk about it.
And then he was gone. And what has he done to improve? He sat behind Derek Carr in Las Vegas. So, not much.
I just can’t make an argument for Mariota. The future is Desmond Ridder. Let’s hope Kyle Pitts continues to skyrocket in a putrid offense. Let’s hope Cordarrelle Patterson doesn’t break a hip. Lots of hopes and dreams, but that’s about it. Marcus Mariota has a chance at redemption on a desperate team. He is “grateful” for a second shot at a floundering (is it too mean to say “dead”?) career, but that’s probably where it ends.
This was a sad breakdown for me this week. Mitchell Trubisky, while a great guy, will likely meet another end within the first four weeks of the season. After that, he’ll watch Kenny Pickett spring into action and become the quarterback of the future in Pittsburgh. And Marcus Mariota will likely see Desmond Ridder take his job as the starting quarterback in Atlanta.
Well, that’ll do it for me! Thanks for joining me these last three weeks as I broke down the new quarterbacks and whether or not they’ll help or hurt their new team. I’ll be here throughout the season talking all things fantasy football!
