On Monday, February 12, 2024, Trubisky was cut by the Steelers as a cost-cutting measure to clear salary cap space before he entered free agency.
FILE: On January 1, 2023, in Baltimore, offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor of the Pittsburgh Steelers practices before an NFL football game. On Monday, February 12, 2024, the Steelers terminated Okorafor as part of a cost-cutting strategy to clear salary cap space before he entered free agency.
FILE – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky looks on during pre-game warm-ups before an NFL football game, Jan. 6, 2024, in Baltimore. Trubisky was released by the Steelers on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in a cost-cutting move designed to free up salary cap space going into free agency
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers cut quarterback Mitch Trubisky on Monday, sending the former No. 2 overall draft pick into free agency after two disappointing seasons.
Trubisky signed with the Steelers in March 2022 and was given first crack at replacing the retired Ben Roethlisberger. Trubisky started four games before being benched in favor of then-rookie Kenny Pickett. Trubisky struggled again this season while filling in for an injured Pickett, losing starts against New England and Indianapolis before being replaced by third-stringer Mason Rudolph.
Releasing Trubisky creates about $11.5 million in salary cap space over the next two seasons.
Pittsburgh also cut offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and punter Pressley Harvin III to begin what could be a series of moves to free up money before free agency begins.
With Trubisky gone, Pickett is the Steelers’ only quarterback under contract for next season. Rudolph is set to become a free agent in March, though coach Mike Tomlin said the team is interested in bringing Rudolph — who won three games as a starter to help the Steelers reach the playoffs — back to compete with Pickett during training camp.
After his tantrum late in a Jacksonville defeat, Okorafor was benched midway through the season, making his exit all but certain. Broderick Jones was a rookie first-round pick. After being selected by the Steelers in the third round of the 2018 draft, Okorafor started 59 games for them.
The 26-year-old earned a $29.25 million, three-year deal in 2022 after showing promise on occasion.
However, Okorafor’s time was limited as Pittsburgh signed rookie left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and drafted Jones with the 14th overall choice in the 2023 draft. Following Pittsburgh’s season-ending defeat to Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs, Okorafor stated he would not have signed the new deal if he had believed he wouldn’t be with the organisation through
