On Wednesday’s edition of Inside Training Camp Live on NFL Network, league insiders Ian Rappaport and Mike Garafolo spoke from the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice facility on what they are hearing from their sources about the Pittsburgh Steelers as they kick of their first training camp practice in Latrobe PA.
The headline story that has dominated the news over the course of the offseason pertains to the QB battle between Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph. Mitch Trubisky has be tabbed as the starter according to the opening depth chart to start camp. Kenny Pickett came in as the #3 QB behind Trubisky and Rudolph, and according to Garafolo, Trubisky is comfortably ahead of Pickett as things sit here today.
“Mitchell Trubisky from my understanding has a sizeable lead on Kenny Pickett in large part because of his resume,” Garafolo said on a segment of Inside Training Camp Live on NFL Network. “I know that a lot of folks look at a quarterback and he’s kind of fallen out of favor in Chicago and he heads to Buffalo where he’s a backup and you say “Ah, that guy’s done. He’s a bust’. The Steelers are excited about Mitchell Trubisky in a lot of ways”
Garafolo states that Trubisky has a notable lead on Pickett due in large part to his accomplishments up to this point in the NFL, having started 50 career games in the NFL and holds a 29-21 record. He led the Bears to the playoffs two times in four seasons with the team and has amassed 10,652 passing yards and 64 TDs to 38 INTs in five NFL seasons along with 203 carries for 1,081 rushing yards and another nine TDs on the ground.
Compared to a rookie setting foot in the league for the first time, it comes as no surprise that Trubisky sits in front of Pickett as training camp starts. While part of that is due to experience, Garafolo also suggests that Pittsburgh believes can provide quality play at the QB position with a new change of scenery.
“He’s a two-time playoff starter,” Garafolo continued regarding Trubisky and his resume. “They say this guy is going to come in and play quarterback. And as a matter of fact, I’m told Mike Tomlin’s private nickname for Mitchell Trubisky is Money Mitch, which we have used before, but that’s what Tomlin thinks of him.”
The “Money Mitch” nickname emerged in Chicago during his time with the Bears and now has surfaced in Pittsburgh by way of head coach Mike Tomlin. We shouldn’t read too much into Tomlin’s choice of nickname for Trubisky, but he has been supportive of the QB since he arrived in Pittsburgh, stating that he remains atop of the depth chart, and he will have the opportunity to show he deserves the starting job along with Pickett and Rudolph competing for the job.
Trubisky has been grateful thus far with how the Steelers and Tomlin are approaching the QB competition, telling them all to play free and try and have receivers make plays in practice. Training camp has just begun, so we still must see what transpires with all of the practices and preseason action. However, it appears that there is a level of comfortability between Trubisky and the Steelers, and now it’s up to him to show he’s the right man for the job.
