Following the selection of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the immediate question for the Pittsburgh Steelers became: who will be the starting quarterback for the Steelers come Week 1?
After signing veteran quarterback Mitch Trubisky on the first day of the legal tampering window in free agency in mid-March, Trubisky appeared to be the obvious answer, even with the Steelers very clearly studying the quarterback class ahead of the draft. The general consensus was that the Steelers would take a project like a Malik Willis to sit and learn behind Trubisky for a year.
The obviously didn’t happen as the Steelers wasted very little time making Pickett the selection, leading to questions about the pending quarterback competition, and how Trubisky would feel about the addition of Pickett, who is arguably the most pro-ready quarterback in the class alongside Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder.
According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler though, there will be no issues from Trubisky’s side of things as the Steelers informed the veteran quarterback upon signing that they “might” select Pickett if he were available at No. 20 overall in the first round.
“But I was told that he even knew that Kenny Pickett was a strong possibility going into this,” Fowler said on ESPN, according to video via ESPN.com. “If he was there at number 20, they might take him. He was prepared for this.”
Now, all the attention turns to the upcoming quarterback battle in minicamp and training camp between not only Pickett and Trubisky, but Mason Rudolph, as well. While the belief is that Pickett has a great shot at winning the starting job due to his draft status and his overall fit in offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s system, Fowler believes that head coach Mike Tomlin’s words about there being a fair competition and letting it play out on the field will ring true throughout the summer in the buildup to the start of the 2022 NFL regular season.
“Well, I’m told they plan to play no favorites. And then Mike Tomlin’s words are sincere because if there’s any anywhere in the NFL that is truly merit based about competition, it’s the Steelers,” Fowler said. “Mike Tomlin is known for this famous line among players in the building when it comes to competition, ‘two dogs, one bone.’ He says it all time. Said it for years. Now you got three dogs, one bone. They got to fight for it.
“Now, Mitchell Trubisky has six plus million dollars on the books this year. He is likely to be the favorite. He’ll get his chances, plenty of reps. And Mason Rudolph has more experience in the system than anybody else. He’ll be in the mix. I wouldn’t discount him completely.”
How the Steelers determine the best way to break up the limited reps among the three quarterbacks, as well as seventh-round draft pick Chris Oladokun, will be very telling. It’s hard to envision Mason Rudolph beating out the pair of Pickett and Trubisky for the job, as it feels like there’s a greater chance he’s traded prior to the start of the regular season than there is of him being the Week 1 starter.
