When it was reported the Steelers signed free agent quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, many believed that the two-year deal would cost Pittsburgh at least $10 million if not even more a year.
Spotrac says the deal is $14.2, $7.1 million a year.
That means the Steelers deal they signed with offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor is more than what they paid for Trubisky. Okorafor signed a three-year deal worth $29.95 million with $20.5 million in the first two seasons.
The Steelers must see something in Okorafor that many others don't. He was ranked 61st among tackles by Pro Football Focus last season and is the 20th ranked tackle on the free agent market.
Trubisky could make over $26 million if he meets incentives in his contract, but still that's still only a little more than the money Chuks will make in the same time.
Now that the numbers are out for Trubisky, the gamble for the Steelers isn't as high it may have seemed on Monday.
It's possible the Steelers can still get a quarterback in this draft, if there is one they are really looking at.
In that case the Steelers will have Trubisky starting with the rookie quarterback as one of the backups.
Or they wait a season or two, with the 2023 draft expected to have a good QB class, find their next franchise quarterback there and ride Trubisky for one more year in 2024.
Or maybe Trubisky plays like the second overall pick he was expected to be when taken in 2017 and the Steelers luck out.
All and all, the Steelers were not going to replace Ben Roethlisberger right away. They weren't going to land Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson. This is at the very least, a relatively inexpensive bridge quarterback.
