Prior to the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first training camp practice at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA, QB Mitch Trubisky stopped to take time to answer questions from the local media.
When asked how he is handling the upcoming QB battle between himself, Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph, Trubisky restated the same sentiment shared by HC Mike Tomlin yesterday during his press conference that they aren’t being micromanaged and have been given the confirmation that one bad throw won’t make or break their chances at the starting QB job.
“He wants us to go out there and play free,” Trubisky said to the media prior to Wednesday’s practice via video provided by Emily Giangreco of WTAE-TV Pittsburgh provided on her Twitter page. “He told us that so you aren’t worried about every single throw and it’s practice. You got to test throws, you got to let guys go make plays, and you just got to go out there and not worry about every single throw.”
Tomlin’s words to the team and the media about how the QB situation will transpire throughout training camp and the preseason have resonated with Trubisky in a way where he can feel comfortable that his current spot atop the depth chart won’t be affected by one missed throw in practice or one mental mistake. Rather, Tomlin wants to see all the QBs play to the best of their abilities on an even playing field, not having the pressure of perfection be the determining factor of who wins the job out of the preseason.
Trubisky is a quarterback used to having the pressure squarely on his shoulders. He was selected as the #2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft after starting only one season at North Carolina and was thrust into the starting job with the Chicago Bears early in his rookie season. From there, the young QB was expected to lead a team with playoff aspirations to contend for the NFC North crown where he managed to make the playoffs two times in his four seasons with the team.
However, the questioned offensive philosophy of then-HC Matt Nagy as well as his development methods of Trubisky didn’t grant him much of a chance to learn as a young QB coming into the league, putting the pressure on him early and often to deliver. Trubisky would go through some rough patches with the Bears and saw himself benched for several games in favor of Nick Foles in his final season with the team.
Coming off a year as the backup QB to Josh Allen in Buffalo where the pressure was taken off him to produce, he now enters a situation in Pittsburgh where he can compete to be a starting NFL QB again yet feels the freedom to be himself and show the coaching staff what he is capable of. Instead of playing not to lose like it appeared had to do in Chicago, Trubisky has the mentality of playing to win now in his second chance with the Steelers. He will have to show that he is deserving of the starting job by his execution in training camp and preseason action, but Trubisky looks to be excited for the opportunity at hand to prove himself in Pittsburgh.
