The Buffalo Bills are officially in the market for a new backup quarterback.
According to a report Monday from NFL Network, Mitchell Trubisky has reached an agreement on a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a deal that will become official once the NFL's new league year begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
"I am beyond excited and blessed for the opportunity to be a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers Organization," Trubisky wrote in a text to ESPN's Adam Schefter that was shared on social media. "I have tremendous respect for the Rooney Family and Coach Tomlin. They have built one of the best rosters in football and I can't wait to contribute and help this team continue their success."
The Bills have been preparing for Trubisky's departure, recognizing that he was likely to get a chance to once again be a starter – something that wouldn't happen in Buffalo behind Josh Allen.
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It will in Pittsburgh, which has a big hole at quarterback following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.
Trubisky signed with the Bills last offseason on a team-friendly, one-year contract that paid him $2.5 million. Although he appeared mostly in mop-up duty, going 6 of 8 for 43 yards and one interception and rushing 13 times for 24 yards and a touchdown, he impressed the organization with the way he handled his business.
"I love the guy to death," Allen said in December. "He’s an awesome teammate. Guys love him, guys gravitate towards him. So, I can see why we went out and got him, and I’m just thankful we did."
“He's a consummate professional in the way that he approaches his day-to-day regimen, his habits. I can't say enough positive things about Mitch Trubisky," head coach Sean McDermott said earlier this month at the NFL scouting combine. "It's hard to handle a situation where you're coming from basically a career starter to being a backup. That's a totally different dynamic. ... I thought Mitch Trubisky handled that extremely well, as good as anybody could have handled it. And then when given the opportunity to play, whether it was in preseason or the regular season, he did a phenomenal job. Command of the playbook. I think it's unrealistic to think that we're going to be able to have him back, but I want him to go on and do great things for him and his family which I know he's going to do."
A former No. 2 overall pick of the Bears in the 2017 draft, Trubisky went 29-21 as a starter with the Bears, but welcomed the chance to hit reset on his career by signing with the Bills as a backup. It gave him the opportunity to learn under former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who has since gone on to become head coach of the New York Giants, and otherwise clear his head after being saddled with the type of expectations that come with being drafted second overall -- ahead of both Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
Trubisky mostly kept a low profile during his one year with the Bills, although he spoke to The Buffalo News in January about what he had taken away from his time spent in Western New York.
“You've just got to believe, like, deep down that everything you're working on is going to pay off eventually,” he said. “They say the things you do in the dark will shine in the light someday when you get the opportunity. ... Hopefully when I get that next opportunity I'll be able to shine.”
He's got it now in Pittsburgh.
