Jimmy Garoppolo: 4 teams that now wish they traded for 49ers QB

Steelers would have preferred Jimmy Garoppolo to Mitchell Trubisky

Unlike the Broncos, who dished out both NFL Draft capital and financial assets to Russell Wilson, the Pittsburgh Steelers took the inexpensive route in their should-have-started-it-two-years-ago attempt to find an heir apparent to now-retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The fix? None other than top-three draft bust Mitchell Trubisky.

OK, so a change in scenery from the doldrums of the Chicago Bears might have revitalized Trubisky’s career, and head coach Mike Tomlin providing some stability within a top-caliber program could have helped regardless of the issues that trouble offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

Regardless, Trubisky has been atrocious, his 59.5 completion percentage just a shade above that of Wilson, and the former occupies the first spot higher on that same list of qualifiers.

Those struggles eventually forced Pittsburgh to turn to its high-regarded rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett, whose Week 5 debut against the Buffalo Bills was anything but inspiring.

Yes, Jimmy Garoppolo would have cost the Steelers much more than signing Trubisky on the cheap. But such a move would have heavily increased Pittsburgh’s chances of hanging around in the AFC North, and it would have given the proper bridge to Pickett, much like the Niners intended Jimmy G to do with Trey Lance a year ago.