OCTOBER 4: In a press conference today, Tomlin confirmed that Pickett will start against the Bills (video link). When making the announcement, he reiterated that Trubisky’s level of play is only partially responsible for the change. The veteran will operate as the backup, and Tomlin revealed that he was considering starting Trubisky this week, given his time in Buffalo last year, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor tweets.
OCTOBER 3: The Steelers began the Kenny Pickett era before they were planning to, bumping the first-round pick into their lineup in Week 4. Unsurprisingly, the rookie will keep their QB1 reins going forward.
Pickett is expected to stick as Pittsburgh’s starter over Mitch Trubisky, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Pickett replaced Trubisky in the second half of the Steelers’ Week 4 loss to the Jets. While the No. 20 overall pick threw three interceptions — the last on a final-play heave — he provided a bit of a spark for the team’s offense.
Teams generally do not turn back once a first-round quarterback enters the lineup, so it would have been more surprising if the Steelers restored Trubisky as their starter. The Steelers have been operating under the assumption Pickett will take over, Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post notes.
A former No. 2 overall pick, Trubisky struggled during his short time as Pittsburgh’s QB. The ex-Bears starter and Bills backup averaged an NFL-low 5.6 yards per attempt. Saying as much postgame, Pickett was more willing to make downfield throws. The 1-3 Steelers’ season now centers around the forthcoming extended look at Ben Roethlisberger heir apparent.
Mike Tomlin told Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer he wanted Trubisky to start throughout the season, providing a true redshirt year for Pickett. While that was a borderline-stunning report, given how Trubisky had fared through two games, a subsequent offering indicated the Steelers hoped to give Pickett until at least midseason to develop from the sideline. The Steelers are set for a grueling Bills-Buccaneers-Dolphins-Eagles stretch — ahead of a Week 9 bye — so Pickett will certainly be tested in his first batch of starts.
Pickett completed 10 of 13 passes for 120 yards and those three INTs against the Jets. After playing five seasons at Pitt (four as a starter), the 24-year-old rookie profiled as a player who would not require a full-season NFL redshirt. He performed well during the preseason, but the Steelers still exercised caution here. Signed to a two-year deal worth $14MM (plus incentives), Trubisky offered a shaky bridge that left the Steelers little choice but to try Pickett early.
Trubisky’s contract called for nearly $13MM in incentives, but that tiered package did not begin until the sixth-year quarterback hit the 60% start threshold. If Pickett stays healthy, Monday’s news would make Trubisky collecting any incentive dough unlikely. The Steelers can release Trubisky, who also received interest from the Giants this offseason, and incur less than $3MM in dead money next year. Mason Rudolph‘s contract expires at season’s end, leaving the team with work to do on its QB2 front in the months ahead. That will be a back-burner issue for the franchise, however, with Pickett’s development now front and center.
so Pickett has yet to throw an incomplete pass in the NFL.
You beat me to it. Lol
His 3 INTs not his fault imo
Yeah you’re right the interceptions are Rudolphs fault for not throwing them any better. Lol he under threw Claypool (who also sucks) in double coverage and then he over threw Freiermuth on just an absolutely bone headed decision to pass. The Hail Mary wasn’t on Pickett, the other 2 surely were.
Kenny Pickett has never thrown an incomplete pass… the end.
Yet, his stats don’t say that his completion percentage is 100%
Kenny Pickett didn’t win the game…. the end.
bare minimum the dude looked really good and brought a much needed spark to the offense.
props to Tomlin for having the confidence to start him against the Bills.
I personally would’ve let Mitch take a beating and turn to Kenny vs Tampa, but now we’re playing to win (even if they still inevitably lose)
Spark? Never a good sign when an offensive player gets more tackles than a defensive player
The Eagles are the best team in the league. The Phillies are in the playoffs. The Sixers are a good team (Sorry about the Flyers). But here you are again, trolling Pickett. Why not give the kid a chance?
Can’t I have my own opinions? I mean if I said the Eagles will win the Super Bowl, would I get pushback?
LOL,ok. I actually hope they do
Eagles beat 4 of the worst organizations in the NFL and are the big pretenders so far
Lions, Vikings, Commanders, and Jaguars lol
it only means something if you lose to those teams.
I’m betting that you’d rather be 4-0 than 1-3. You lost to terrible teams and got lucky against the Bengals. You got 5 turnovers and their LS got injured. Eagles will soar
you mean the Mitch trubisky steelers who no one really had high hopes for?
Tomlin and his undeserving record cares more about going above .500 than the fans
difference is, steelers know who they are, Eagles are riding some fake hype with a QB who everyone knows isn’t elite
Your jealousy is showing
In some ways, I feel badly for Trubisky. I’m not sure the guy ever really got a shot in such a poor offensive scheme. But on the other, Pickett is the future, clearly provides a spark and is a gamer. With a poor o-line, porous d-line and highly beatable secondary, this team is going nowhere. Might as well play the kids
In other ways, maybe Trubisky is the one who should apologize to Canada.
Pickett came in cold and with same poor offensive scheme IMMEDIATELY did better than Trubisky who has had months getting all the snaps.
I agree. Mitch was afraid of that 1st down marker.
and only threw downfield on designed plays.. Kenny seemed to use the entire field including open running lanes.
there’ll be another opportunity for Mitch to start if he’s OK with playing in the XFL..
Offhand, I’d agree with you. But you have to admit that Canada’s plan with Trubisky looked a great deal like the one he used with Roethlisberger. Dink and dunk short passes, the predictable jet sweeps…defenses quickly got the idea
You’re right. Pickett looked downfield and if nothing else, got the only real stud of a receiver in Pickens involved
Mitch got his shot and blew it. He can’t read defenses, his passes are shaky and he spends too much time checking off receivers.
I feel bad for him, too. But he’s another brilliant over valued first round pick by that genius, Ryan Pace.
I don’t feel bad for him..
i said going into the Jets game if he looks bad , you gotta at least roll out Mason Rudolph 2nd half, if Kenny not ready..
boy was I hype to not only get a QB change , but for it to be Kenny
the guy I feel bad for is Mason, they gave Mitch his spot for no reason.
hindsight is 20/20 and I for sure thought Mitch had a chance to be solid given his skillset, however looks like we would’ve got similar results from Mason.
Mitch may unfortunately get another shot this week if things go very sour with Kenny.
Gosh, who could’ve predicted that Trubisky wouldn’t be a tolerable NFL starter?
With the Steelers current team, nobody would be tolerable.
Wrong. Steelers have a pretty darn good group of young skill players offensively (excluding the line). The problem is with the OC. That man needs to go asap.
No, I’m right. This team is terrible.
I initially loved the young core they had here. I applauded the drafting of both Najee and Claypool. To me at least, the jury is out on both and again, is it because of the OC, the o-line, or something else?
I like Freiermuth, but there are times that he either fails to make a catch or has an inopportune drop or fumble.
There’s still a lot of hope with these kids, but the Steelers’ failure to address the lines, the line backing and especially the secondary…
Well, it’s going to be interesting to see how the kids progress.
It’s hard to see this group winning more than a few games
the line has a lot if young talent and has taken a step up in pass protection..
I’ve seen the umbrella form on multiple passing plays.
they still can’t move any bodies in the run game tho.
Well, duh. The kid was electric despite the results.
Monkey’s Uncle • 18 mins ago
“Well, duh. The kid was electric despite the results.”
Spoken like a true genius. Who cares whether he won or lost, at least he looked flashy for a few moments.
Sure, let the kid play with a horrible o-line and let him get crushed. Not like that has ever been bad for a young QB’s development or anything.
Yeah, this was my gripe/concern from the beginning. Truthfully, I don’t get this switch, the timing, the rationale, and I’m someone who is pro-Pickett
Was Tomlin under the illusion that this team was going somewhere when he made the decision?
Trubisky made a good bridge for this upcoming stretch of murderer’s row. I kind of thought that this was his role. Again, I like Pickett, but with this line, this offensive coordinator….it’s a gamble
I’m hoping he comes through it as Burrow did his first year…without the injury
Tomlin wants at all costs to keep his pro .500 record
the o line has been fine in pass protection for anyone who can actually analyze it.
week 1 was yucky, but since then this group has been giving the QB time.
Mitch was just not using that time to do anything but stare down his check down or hot route
You don’t need a separate paragraph for each sentence. Talk about a genius!
If it is only one sentence long, it isn’t a paragraph, genius.
If they aren’t paragraphs, then you can’t use line breaks you booger-eating mouthbreather- you don’t know english.
you must be new to message boards, Jack..
and new to conversation;
bruh.
“Bruh” = Not an actual word. Type like a man.
Jumping Jack –
A little bit sensitive, aren’t you?
Trubisky was hired to be a sacrificial lamb for this rebuilding Steeler’s team.
I think they saw some potential,..
if he was strictly sacrificial lamb, would’ve just rolled with Rudolph
Mitch wasn’t given “every chance” to succeed, but he sure had plenty of chances, and ended up being exactly what the Bears fans thought of him
No he didn’t.
If it turns out to be just too soon for Pickett, does Tomlin go back to Trubisky or move on to Rudolph or …. ?
Trubisky would likely get a look vs Bills.
if Pickett looks good again, and steelers can free up some cap by cutting Mitch loose, then I do think that’s a possibility.
steelers could use another veteran body at DT to help with the run.
still clamoring for Ndamukong Suh to join this D , but depends on the record 3 weeks from now
We can all wonder if bringing Kenny in as starter was too soon, but the worst thing that can possibly happen now, with a team that is going nowhere, that they go this route of starting him and then pulling him. I mean, it’s going to be hard enough with what’s ahead but if you really want to mess with a player’s head, that’s the way you do it. No, they made the change and have to stick with it.
No way they can possibly be that stupid, is there?
Suh will only sign with teams that can make the playoffs. I don’t think that includes Pittsburgh
suh will only sign where will pay him enough.
it has nothing to do with contending. plenty of contenders available to sign for cheap , but Suh still hasn’t signed because he has a number
Well Pittsburgh would be stupid to give him anything because they’re not going anywhere. Can he play both offensive and defensive line? At this point in the season, he’s not getting a big contract. The season is a quarter of the way over and since he hasn’t been in a training camp, I’d say it’s gonna be week 8 before he can play.
Damn Trubisky lasted 3.5 games compared to the 3 I predicted.
Absolutely moronic. Our tissue paper offensive line is going to get this kid hurt and ruin both his and the Steelers future. Tomlin lost control of this team when he let Brown and Bell stick around after showing they were complete mental cases. It’s embarrassing.
Lol Bell and Brown were the 2 best players we’ve had in 10 years. Every NFL player has character concerns. Talent outweighs all of that and AB + Bell had a ton of it.
No he doesn’t.
Whatever QB decision the Steelers finally arrive at…it won’t be as bad as waiving Johnny Unitas.
It makes no difference who leads them to 6 wins.