With Aaron Rodgers staying in Green Bay, Russell Wilson now a member of the Broncos and Carson Wentz moving over to the Commanders, NFL teams in search of veteran quarterback help can turn their attention to free agency, which begins Monday with the legal tampering period.
Full free agency doesn’t start until 4 p.m. Wednesday, so nothing will be official until then. But we can expect to hear news leak out regarding the agreement to terms on new deals.
This year, we might even hear about a deal involving the Steelers in the works.
Most years, the Steelers are intent to sit the early rounds of free agency out, waiting for the big spenders to blow their money and then sifting through the wreckage for the bargains.
With around $30 million in salary cap space and some obvious needs, this year that will be different. Expect the Steelers to be aggressive when it comes to finding a potential replacement for Ben Roethlisberger -- or at the very least someone to compete with Mason Rudolph to be their starter. And that competition can't be just Dwayne Haskins.
The player they're expected to target? Former Bears starter Mitch Trubisky.
Why Trubisky? The second-overall pick in the 2017 draft, Trubisky wasn't a complete flop with the Bears. He made the Pro Bowl in his second season with the team and led Chicago to an 11-3 record in games he started.
The key was that the Bears surrounded him with good talent that season. Injuries and organization ineptitude followed after that, things that led to the Bears allowing Trubisky to leave when his rookie contract was up and also resulted in Chicago eventually replacing its general manager and head coach Matt Nagy.
Trubisky, who has a 29-21 record as a starter, has completed over 64 percent of his career passes and thrown 64 touchdowns against 38 interceptions.
He also has the mobility the Steelers covet at the position.
The Giants, Panthers and possibly others are reportedly interested in Trubisky, who spent last season as Josh Allen's backup in Buffalo. But the Steelers, who are coming off a 9-6-1 record in Roethlisberger's final season, might have the best situation to offer Trubisky -- a stable organization with a history of winning.
If not Trubisky, the Steelers could pivot to Jameis Winston, though he's coming off a torn ACL that could leave him unable to get on the field until late into training camp. That situation makes it more likely that Winston will simply re-sign with the Saints.
They also could turn to former Titans starter Marcus Mariota, who has spent the past two seasons backing up Derek Carr with the Raiders, or Teddy Bridgewater, who was the Broncos' starter last season. The Steelers also could make a pitch for Jacoby Brissett, who spent last season as a backup in Miami.
If that doesn't work, there's always the draft at the end of April. But with the 20th pick in the first round, the Steelers might not be in position to acquire one of the top quarterbacks available without trading up.
And that would cost multiple draft picks. In addition, the rookie quarterback class isn't considered a strong one. In fact, if Trubisky were available in this draft class, he'd be the top quarterback in the class.
A trade for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo also would improve the Steelers’ quarterback situation. Garoppolo is available after the 49ers selected Trey Lance in the first round of last year’s draft, even though Lance played sparingly as a rookie.
Making the situation difficult is the fact Garoppolo has one year remaining on his current contract with a base salary of $24.2 million and he just had surgery last week to repair a torn capsule in his shoulder that will keep him from throwing a football until training camp.
Garoppolo, 30, owns a 33-14 record as a starting quarterback and passed for just over 3,800 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season while leading the 49ers to the NFC Championship game.
The Deshaun Watson situation also could affect what the Steelers do at quarterback. While the Steelers aren’t interested in trading for Watson, who was cleared Friday of any criminal charges regarding 22 civil lawsuits over sexual assault allegations, where he lands could create more quarterback movement.
The Texans granted Watson's representatives permission to speak to teams on Sunday. The asking price for Watson is reportedly at least three first-round draft picks and more, including players.
If, for example, the Eagles trade for Watson, current Philadelphia starter Jalen Hurts might become available. Or, if the Texans acquire a quarterback such as Hurts in return for Watson, they then might be inclined to trade second-year quarterback Davis Mills.
The Steelers also are expected to be active acquiring offensive line help and in the secondary.