All eyes will be on the quarterback situation for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. Head coach Mike Tomlin spoke about his expectations at his end-of-the-year press conference, stating that QB Kenny Pickett will be the de facto starter but will have competition. A number of people expect that upcoming free agent QB Mason Rudolph will be brought back, especially after his role in helping the Steelers make it to the playoffs via three straight wins. Tomlin confirmed the team hoped Rudolph would re-sign.
However, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly threw some cold water on that notion. He joined the PM Team on 93.7 The Fan Friday afternoon, and he was less than bullish on the odds Rudolph returns for the 2024 season.
“I’m just speculating here, but I’d say about a good 30 percent,” Kaboly said. “Here’s the thing about that. If the Steelers really wanted him back, they could make it happen. You just give him a contract offer that’s pretty decent, and I’m sure he’ll come back, but I don’t know if that’s what they want to do or not.”
The thought that the Steelers might not want to bring Rudolph back might seem odd. After all, he came in without much preparation, and over the course of three regular-season games, he completed 74.3 percent of his passes while throwing for 719 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He did throw a pick in the Steelers’ loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, but he also threw two more touchdowns and got the game within a score in the second half. So why wouldn’t the team want him back?
“You think they’re sold on him on four games?” Kaboly said. “They probably should be, but the bottom line is for two, three years, they did anything they could to, either not get rid of him, but at least not give him an opportunity to show what he can do… They wouldn’t have waited until Mitch Trubisky absolutely crapped the bed in Indianapolis to put him in. So I think, in the back of their mind, there’s still just a little bit of skepticism there.”
So if Kaboly is correct, where does that leave the Steelers for the quarterback competition? Do they follow the thoughts of ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky and make some calls regarding Justin Fields, Baker Mayfield, or Kirk Cousins? The draft? Or a different veteran quarterback? Kaboly’s answer is not going to be one that Steelers fans will like.
“I don’t even know if there’s anybody worth it for competition, right?” Kaboly said. “The quarterback pool is not really deep, is it?…I’m just saying maybe they do keep Mitch then at that point. I don’t know, they could keep Mitch if they know Rudolph could be gone. I think that they will keep him around if Rudolph is gone because I don’t think there’s a ton of guys out on that market that I would really be looking into as a backup-capable guy.”
That thought cannot be an encouraging one for anyone who watches the Steelers. There was a point, heading into the 2022 season, that Trubisky could be that veteran presence that would steer the ship while then-rookie Pickett developed. Trubisky did get a win to open the season over the Cincinnati Bengals despite only completing 55.3 percent of his passes (he did throw a touchdown, though.)
Then the Steelers lost their next two games to the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns. He started the Week Four game against the New York Jets but threw one interception and was sacked three times before the reins were given to Pickett to start the second half. Trubisky would make three more appearances in 2022, including stepping in and completing 75 percent of his passes and throwing a touchdown in a 20-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week Six.
Trubisky also stepped in for Pickett early in the Week 14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens where he completed 73.33 percent of his passes and threw for a touchdown, but he also threw three interceptions. He then started the win over the Carolina Panthers the following week and completed 77.27 percent of his passes but did not throw for a touchdown. When Pickett was healthy, he returned and Trubisky went back to the bench.
The following year, Trubisky was firmly entrenched as the backup quarterback, and he saw a brief cameo in the Week Four blowout loss to the Houston Texans, then played the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Eight where he threw for one touchdown and two interceptions. Then when Pickett went down in the Week 13 game against the Arizona Cardinals, there was Trubisky again. He also got the start on a short week against the New England Patriots where he threw both a touchdown and an interception.
Some chalked that performance off to him having a very short week (Sunday to Thursday) of preparation work. He would get extended practice time ahead of the game against the Indianapolis Colts the following Saturday.
However, that was the game Kaboly referenced above, where “Trubisky absolutely crapped the bed.” It was referred to as a must-win game. The Steelers were reeling from two straight losses to 2-10 teams and were only one game above .500. Sure, Trubisky completed 69.57 percent of his passes and threw for a touchdown to help the Steelers out to a 13-0 lead. He also threw two interceptions in the 30-13 loss.
For Kaboly to say that he thinks the Steelers would keep Trubisky around if they can’t keep Rudolph is likely demoralizing to fans. After the Colts game, Trubisky was relegated to the bottom of the quarterback depth chart as Rudolph stepped in and helped engineer three straight wins to resuscitate the Steelers’ flagging playoff hopes.
The quarterback situation will be one of the most scrutinized parts of the Steelers’ offseason. If the competition during training camp is Pickett vs Trubisky, does anyone really win?
