By Jordan Long
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ first preseason game is Saturday against Seattle. The Steelers have a competition for their starting quarterback between Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky. Rookie Kenny Pickett is in the mix but may not win it since he is learning the NFL game. Right now Trubisky is winning the competition.
Trubisky agreed to a contract with the Steelers after spending last year as the backup quarterback in Buffalo. Trubisky has been a starter in this league before with the Chicago Bears, lasting from 2017 to 2020. His record there was 29-21. Trubisky passed for 10,652 yards, 64 touchdowns, and 38 interceptions in his career.
Rudolph served as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup since 2019 until Roethlisberger retired at the end of last season. This should have given him a leg up since he has been in Head Coach Mike Tomlin’s system longer than Trubisky. In that time, Rudolph’s starting record is 5-4 with 1 tie. He threw for 2,366 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in the NFL so far.
The competition isn’t over yet. Trubisky may be the leader. According to MSN.com, Head Coach Mike Tomlin’s said, “They’re making it difficult for us. It’s tough to manage three capable guys, but they’re forcing us to do it because they’re making the necessary plays. They’re anticipating, the timing has been good, [and] the accuracy has been good. Mitch’s silver bullet, if you will, is his fluidity and mobility. He’s a really good athlete. Rudolph throws a really good deep ball. [Pickett] has been Steady Eddie. Kenny P, I don’t think you can get him in an environment where he gets flustered. We saw that at Pitt and it’s been the same. It doesn’t matter what drill or what environment you put him in. He’s Steady Eddy and really cool.”
The truth is the media can say that Trubisky is the starter right now but all he is doing is playing against his teammates. Sure that can give Tomlin an idea of who is playing better, but it all depends on the preseason. Whoever performs better in those games will be the number 1 quarterback on the depth chart. Rudolph might outperform Trubisky. If that happens, the Steelers would have to go with Rudolph as the starter.
For Pickett, he is still a rookie learning the game at the NFL level. The only way he would start week 1 is if Rudolph and Trubisky go down with injuries. Pickett can use preseason as a way to grow at the NFL level.
The Steelers have time to figure out who will be the #1 quarterback on their depth chart. They will decide before their first regular season game which is on September 11 when they travel to Cincinnati. Whoever it is, the Steelers hope to have a successful season where they earn a playoff spot. Winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal.
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