It appears that the Steelers‘ quarterback job is Mitchell Trubisky‘s to lose and, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett is not quite ready to push Trubisky for the role.
Pittsburgh has been riding with Trubisky as the first-team quarterback for much of the offseason with incumbent backup Mason Rudolph as the primary second stringer. While it’s become quite trendy for rookie quarterbacks to start from Day 1, Pittsburgh has stayed patient with Pickett with no plans of rushing him into the starting role.
Rudolph has proven to be better competition for Trubisky early in the preseason and has truly made things interesting. In order for him to overtake Trubisky on the depth chart, though, he’d likely have to be near perfect this preseason and will need Trubisky to fall off.
Pickett in the meantime will have this time to grow and mature at the NFL level. He still may be the quarterback of the future in Pittsburgh, but he’ll have to take the old-fashioned route of sitting and learning before he gets his opportunity on the field.
Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC North, starting with a rumor from the rival Ravens:
- When considering Baltimore’s weakest position groups, wide receiver and pass rusher are the two most often mentioned. But the Ravens‘ lack of depth at inside linebacker could cause them to reach out for some help, according to Jeff Zrebiec at The Athletic. With Patrick Queen and Josh Bynes sitting out the team’s first preseason game last night, Malik Harrison and Kristian Welch saw initial snaps with the defense. Several undrafted rookies came in after that. Without even considering that the combination of Queen and Bynes is not the scariest inside linebacker duo, that depth is concerning. Zrebiec suggests the easy answer is a reunion with free agent L.J. Fort who has spent most of the last three seasons with Baltimore. If things look desperate, though, a call could always be made for a price-check on Bears’ disgruntled linebacker Roquan Smith.
- In a question and answer this week, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly addressed the potential roster outlook at receiver for the Steelers this year. With the depth chart topped by Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, and Calvin Austin III, the question was brought up who slots in as the team’s fifth-receiver. Kaboly threw out an idea suggesting that if Austin can serve double-duty as a return-man, that could affect the roster status of Anthony Miller, Cody White, or Gunner Olszewski. But he was adamant that offseason waiver claim Miles Boykin would not be making the final roster. While Kaboly states there in an array of reasons for this certainty, he points to salary as the main one. The Steelers picked up Boykin with his rookie contract from the Ravens. The final year of that deal is set to pay Boykin $2.54MM with a $2.75MM cap hit.
Any smart football fan (especially one of the Steelers) knew that as soon as Trubisky was signed he was the starter. The organization doesn’t rush players despite the common theme nowadays to do so. There’s a reason why they have been one of the most successful franchises of all time. Sick and tired of hearing about how Pickett “is a busy because he isn’t starting or pushing for QB1” or “waste of a pick”. From the second he was drafted the plan was for him to be brought along slowly and learn. He will get his opportunity when the time is right. Period.
It was stated months ago that Trubinsky would be the starter. Not sure why people feel they know better than those who have been evaluating him for years
Well said. and you’re right.
One thing i will say, Pickett is older and more mature than the usual 1st rd pick.
So I thought this might come into play in competition for the starting spot.
“From the second he was drafted the plan was for him to be brought along slowly and learn”.
Well, you could say the same thing about Rudolph. How has that worked out?
Yeah, he didn’t earn the role. The point is the Steelers aren’t going to just give the job to someone because he’s, on paper, the next qb. You’re making his point
Rudolph also never had proper help when he was drafted. Don’t think he’s the answer but he hasn’t even played a full season worth of games. He also had no coaching when he was first drafted. He barely got any reps in practice and had to continuously learn via a VR headset so do his reads and motions. People act like he is the worst QBs all time when statistically he IS one of the better backups in the league. Pickett now actually has a QB coach who wants to help him grow unlike Fichtner who wasn’t a QB coach and cast aside Rudolph because all he cared about was 7. Pickett also knows the playbook better than the other 2 due to Canada being on Pitt’s staff and leaving before he got there but still have him the playbook to learn. Again…it MEANS NOTHING if the Steelers don’t want him near the field yet. Period.
here comes the Pickett haters to say he’s not ready….
…when reality is Steelers wouldn’t give rookie Joe Montana 1st team reps if he was reincarnated and walked on water at his pro day.
Especially since Joe Montana is still alive.
ya I actually was trying to think of someone dead but all the good qbs are still alive and ppl don’t really know Sammy Baugh even tho hes the goat lol
Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, Kenny Stabler, George Blanda. Y.A. Tittle, Sid Luckman, maybe Steve McNair?
Ed Bouchette to Mark Kaboly is the biggest downgrade of them all.
Broncos fans have to deal with Kiszla, so hey, it could be worse.
I mean it’s a battle of suck vs blow. Steelers will be lucky to win 6 games this year with that QB room.
Mike Tomlin won 8 games with Devlin Hodges & Mason Rudolph. Mitch Trubisky is better than Duck Hodges you dumbass. They’ll be .500 at worst.
I agree with the overall point, and I do agree that Trubisky is at the very, very, very least an upgrade over Hogdes. The thing that will hurt Pittsburgh more than anything else though is actually their schedule. It’s pretty tough for any team, let alone a transitioning team. I think they’ll end up a better team than their record indicates by the end of year, which actually isn’t a terribly bad thing for Steelers fans in my opinion.
ya i wouldn’t count them out.. lot of playmakers if they can connect on short passes.. defense is top 3 easy
Tomlin & his vanilla offense will win nothing in todays game. Yes, defense wins championship but if you can’t get to the dance, your a lonesome loser
Nothing to see here. Rookie QBs have a lot to process/absorb and most need some time to do that. Trubiskey is clearly an upgrade from Rudolph, so it makes sense for him to hold down the fort until Pickett shows he is ready (or is a miss). How many games the Steelers win thus year is pretty irrelevant, as they are not a contender at the moment.