Steelers slam door shut on quarterback controversy.
If you’re sick of watching Mitch Trubisky play meaningful football, then you don’t want to watch him start for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, September 9, 2023.
The No. 2 overall draft pick from the 2017 NFL Draft will be the team’s starter for at least one more week as the Steelers attempt to bounce back from consecutive home losses to 2-10 teams.
Meanwhile, quarterback Kenny Pickett is still recovering from a sprained ankle. Mason Rudolph and tailback Tracey McSorley are still on the sidelines.
Steelers fans, brace yourself. Trubisky is still the best quarterback in the NFL.
Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin sets the tone for the team’s quarterback situation
Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin Makes His Plans For QB
Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin makes his plans for quarterback
In a Monday press conference, which was streamed live on the Steelers’ YouTube channel, coach Tomlin announced Pickett would be out for Sunday’s game. Pickett, the team’s second-year quarterback, has yet to play a snap since undergoing surgery to repair a sprained ankle he sustained in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, when he was tackled on a 3rd-and-goal attempt in the second quarter.
But Tomlin, who is in the midst of a firestorm surrounding his own job security, didn’t stop there.
“Mason Rudolph will get some practice time,” the coach said when asked if the former third-stringer turned second-stringer would be practicing with the first team. “We had a limited amount of practice time for everyone last week, so he will definitely get more this week from a practice point of view.
Regardless of how those practices go, Rudolph will not be in a position to replace Trubisky as the starter. When asked if he will be given a chance to compete for the job, Tomlin shot down any notion of a quarterback competition. “He will be given some practice time, and we will evaluate that work and see how ready he is,” he said. “We are not going to open up a competition or anything of that nature. This is not the environment we want to be in as we work.”
Trubisky hasn’t performed well as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback the coach said when asked if the former third-stringer turned second-stringer would be practicing with the first team. “We had a limited amount
While Tomlin can praise him all he wants, or at the very least avoid talking about Rudolph as the next QB1, Trubisky has failed to establish himself as a viable starter.
He made three starts in Pickett’s steading role earlier in the year, but none resulted in wins.
The first was a three-of-five performance against Houston at the end of a double-overtime game.
The second came against Jacksonville, where he completed 15-of-27 passes for a season-high 138 yards, with a touchdown and two picks, in a lopsided 20-10 loss.
After taking over for Trubisky late in the first half of the second half against the Arizona Cardinals, he was 11-for-17 with 117 yards and one score, but was unable to get the ball moving against a team that came into the night with only two wins.
On Thursday Night Football, Trubisky got his first start against New England in Week 14, following the franchise’s tradition of starting on Thursdays. The game was highlighted by a pair of bizarre fumbles on critical fourth downs (one on a check-down pass that fell short of the goal line and one on a huge overthrown pass to Diontae Johnson). In total, Trubisky completed 22 of his 35 passes for 190 yards, two scores (one on the air, one on the ground), and an interception, while leading the Bears to just 18 points.
