Two weeks ago, on Dec. 19, QB Mason Rudolph leaped QB Mitch Trubisky on the official depth chart that the Pittsburgh Steelers release each week. Kenny Pickett remained at the top but was dealing with an injury and Trubisky’s play got him benched in favor of Rudolph. Now, Rudolph has led the team to two-straight wins after a three-game losing streak, and he was named the starter by head coach Mike Tomlin on Monday. Interestingly, the official depth chart provided by the team on Tuesday afternoon in the weekly game release did not reflect this change. Pickett is still listed as QB1.
The depth chart is just a document that teams are required to fill out each week, so it is hard to read too much between the lines, but this could be a nod from Tomlin to Pickett that the job is still his in the future. First, Tomlin was able to use Pickett’s injury as an excuse to ride the hot hand of Rudolph and now with that out of the way and Pickett officially benched, this could be a symbolic gesture to Pickett that the team still believes in him as QB1.
There is an unwritten rule in football that players do not lose their jobs due to injury. Of course, there have been notable exceptions to this rule, but in general Tomlin has stuck to it throughout the years. Dan Moore Jr., for example, was injured earlier in the season and rookie first-round draft pick Broderick Jones performed well in his absence. Many thought Jones would earn the starting role, but Moore was given his job back when healthy.
Pickett is now an exception to that rule, being healthy enough to play but not set to be the starter. He has been benched in favor of Rudolph and it occurred while he was injured. Pickett underwent Tightrope surgery on his high ankle sprain following an injury at the end of the first half of the Steelers’ Dec. 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Rudolph is due to be a free agent following this season, so it is unclear how that will pan out. If he is able to lead the Steelers into the playoffs, and especially if he gets a playoff win, he will have earned himself a decent-sized contract in Pittsburgh or elsewhere. He will get a chance to do just that on Saturday as the Steelers head to Baltimore to face the Ravens. A win, and a little bit of outside help, will qualify the Steelers for the tournament.
