It appears as though Mitchell Trubisky is going to force Pittsburgh Steelers fans to wait before getting to see rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett take over the starting job.
On Sunday night, Trubisky started the game under center as the Steelers faced off against the Lions for their third and final preseason game. And in the dress rehearsal, Trubisky shined.
Playing all of the first half, he completed 15 of 19 for 160 yards and a touchdown. Being as he has been starting every game for the Steelers during preseason and playing with the first team in Training Camp, all indications are that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will tab Trubisky as his starter for Week 1 against the Bengals.
With a shot at redemption waiting for Mitchell Trubisky, let’s take a look at what his current odds are to win Comeback Player of the Year this season.
Mitchell Trubisky Comeback Player of the Year Odds
Per DraftKings, Trubisky is +1200 to win Comeback Player of the Year. He trails Derrick Henry (+400), Jameis Winston (+550), Christian McCaffrey (+750), Michael Thomas (+800), Daniel Jones (+800) and Baker Mayfield (+800).
Because Trubisky was never considered much of an established quarterback during his time with the Bears, it’s hard to really look at his situation as a “comeback” story. But nevertheless, NFL awards voters would likely still view it that way if he were to put in a successful season.
After all, Trubisky was an injury replacement in the 2018 Pro Bowl after a dominant defensive led the Bears to an NFC North title. In that season, Trubisky had far and away his best year as a pro, completing 66.6% of his passes and adding 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. In the following two seasons, Trubisky saw a steady decline in his overall stats, leading to his benching during the 2020 season.
The other thing that should worry bettors before taking Trubisky to win the Comeback Player of the Year is that he has Pickett breathing down his neck, and you’d better believe Steelers nation will be calling for the rookie at the first sign of struggle for Trubisky.
Even with Trubisky being the likely starter for Week 1, Pickett is among the favorites to take home the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award at +900.
Still, the likely QB1 of the Steelers is ‘confident’ he can hold down the position and have success this season.
“I feel confident with where I’m at,” Trubisky told reporters after Sunday’s preseason finale via Yahoo. “I feel confident with where I’m at and our overall developing as an offense. So I feel confident, and I’m excited to see where we go from here.”
At the end of the day, the standard of winning has already been set for the Steelers dating back to before Mike Tomlin even arrived as head coach. And if Trubisky can lead his team to success, all the other noise will fall by the wayside.
“I think I’ve just shown I can run this offense, I can lead this offense, and I have what it takes to help this team win games,” he said.
