Turns out, even in a digital age with all the technology at our fingertips, a simple cut and paste issue can cause people to get up in arms.
That’s what happened Monday as the Pittsburgh Steelers released a depth chart ahead of the Week 1 season-opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. In that depth chart, the Steelers had Mason Rudolph listed as the No. 2 quarterback behind starter Mitch Trubisky, with rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett at No. 3.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday during his weekly Tomlin Tuesday press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the Monday depth chart and the updated one on Tuesday that dropped half an hour before his press conference, showing the change under center with Pickett at No. 2 and Rudolph at No. 3.
Tomlin cited the clerical error, dropping an all-time Tomlin line of the cut and paste component being, well, the cut and paste component.
“It was a clerical error. You know, that’s how the depth chart was listed at the start of training camp,” Tomlin stated to reporters Tuesday, according to video via Steelers.com. “So the cut and paste component was the cut and past component. I know you were hoping for a little bit more colorful explanation, but it is what it is.”
Even a billion dollar organization can have some technical issues with basic cut and paste functions.
Despite some of the noise created from the clerical error Monday, Tomlin added that he didn’t need to explain it to Pickett and Rudolph, considering they knew where everything stood entering the week.
“They don’t need that,” Tomlin added, according to video via Steelers.com. “We talked yesterday, they understood where we were, and so I’d imagine they viewed it as such [a clerical error].”
With the updated depth chart, Pickett has solidified himself as the No. 2 behind Trubisky after a very strong preseason and training camp, with Rudolph as the No. 3. Tomlin took the time to praise all three quarterbacks in his weekly press conference, citing the comfort with which Trubisky brings, the excitement of the future for Pickett, and the professionalism that Rudolph showed throughout the offseason.
Still, when it comes to taking the field Sunday at Paycor Stadium against the Bengals, only two quarterbacks will dress for Tomlin and the Steelers, according to a tweet from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo. That means Rudolph will be inactive for the Week 1 opener.
That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, nor does it mean the Steelers are going to all of a sudden trade Rudolph away now that he’s the No. 3 quarterback. They obviously feel very comfortable carrying three quarterbacks on the roster, especially in a year filled with transition, and are seeking comfort in the fact that Rudolph as the No. 3 brings a ton of experience overall, which isn’t something many teams have throughout the league.
Where the Steelers might need some experience though is in the cut and paste department, because that fiasco nearly broke the internet on Labor Day.
