Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett jumped up the Pat McAfee Show Thursday afternoon to talk about the 2022 season, his relationship with OC Matt Canada, and his upcoming plans for the offseason.
McAfee asked Pickett about the other quarterbacks in the room and if the group got along together after Pickett took the starting job from Mitch Trubisky who was benched at halftime in Week 4 against the New York Jets.
“Yeah, man, we got along really well, and I think the bond just got stronger, you know, as the year went,” Pickett said to McAfee. “I couldn’t ask two guys that really just helped me week in, week out. Every time I came off the field, like Mitch [Trubisky] would have something, Mason [Rudolph] would have something. We would all communicate on how we should attack the next series. Really grateful for how they treated me and brought me into this team.”
Trubisky ended up getting some action against the Buccaneers when Pickett got knocked out due to a concussion and helped Pittsburgh defeat Tom Brady at home. However, Trubisky was held under the microscope when he had to come in for Pickett against the Ravens in Week 14, throwing three INTs which effectively lost the game for Pittsburgh. Trubisky redeemed himself the following week, getting the win in Carolina as Pickett was ruled out for the game with a concussion, returning to play out the rest of the season.
Despite Trubisky losing the starting job to Pickett and Mason Rudolph being inactive for most of the 2022 season, it sounds like both QBs were good soldiers through it all, supporting Pickett on the field as well as in the meeting room. Rudolph’s positive attitude has been mentioned numerous times throughout the season by his teammates and himself, expressing the desire to play, but do whatever is asked of him to help the team be successful in the end. The same goes for Trubisky who had to come to terms with being the backup despite being named a team captain to start the season, helping Pickett in his development throughout his rookie campaign.
In all likelihood, both Rudolph and Trubisky will be gone next season with Rudolph slated to hit free agency and Pittsburgh saving a good amount of cap space should they release Trubisky who wants a fresh start elsewhere. Still, while we may be ready for the Kenny Pickett era to fully commence in 2023, Pickett has made sure to tip his hat to his mentors this season for helping make in-game adjustments and progress down the stretch. We should do the same as Steelers faithful, recognizing Rudolph for his efforts during his tenure with Pittsburgh as well as Trubisky who was here briefly, but still helped Pickett grow.
