On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin announced Kenny Pickett as the starting quarterback for Week 5. As a result, veteran quarterback Mitch Trubisky has been demoted to backup duties.
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After Ben Roethlisberger's retirement, the Steelers signed Trubisky, as the team clearly needed a quarterback. Once the team then drafted Pickett 20th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, it became clear that Trubisky wasn't going to last long as the team's starter. That became especially true in the opening few weeks of the season, as Trubisky and the offense as a whole struggled to put points on the board.
In his weekly press conference, Tomlin was honest in his assessment on why Pickett will be the starter moving forward. While Pickett's confidence and ability to provide a spark in the team's Week 4 loss certainly played a factor, Trubisky's play did as well. This is what the 16-year head coach had to say:
"Mitch's performance was a component of the decision, but not the only component of the decision. We haven't moved the ball fluidly enough to our liking. We've all gotta absorb the responsibility that comes with what we haven't done, particularly in that phase including myself and starting with myself," Tomlin said on Tuesday. "When you make a quarterback change, you are really sensitive to that component of it because I don't wanna dump the responsibility of what transpired at Mitch's feet. That's not fair to him. He's played better than that description, but we haven't."
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Essentially, Tomlin is saying the offense's struggles have been a group effort. Trubisky hasn't played to the best of his abilities, but hasn't all been on him. The wide receivers have had their struggles, which were on full display in that Week 4 loss to the New York Jets. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson dropped a pass that went straight through his hands, which resulted in Trubisky's lone interception on the day.
In the second half, Chase Claypool seemingly got outworked by a much smaller defender on a jump ball down the field. While Pickett did underthrow it, Claypool's poor effort led to another interception. Offensive coordinator, Matt Canada has struggled with his duties calling plays as well. Now sitting at 1-3, Tomlin faces the chance of his first below-.500 season since the Steelers hired him.
Tomlin admitted that the team made the change at halftime of the Jets game in order to try and find a spark. Pickett provided just that, and that's why the team will stick with him moving forward. Tomlin expects the rookie QB to continue to provide that same kind of spark on a weekly basis. The playmakers around Pickett seemed to respond well to him, claiming that he came in with confidence, swag, and a command of the huddle.
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Tomlin remained empathetic of Trubisky and the difficulty in sending a veteran guy like him to do the bench. After the game Sunday, Trubisky didn't sound too happy with the benching. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the team keeps him around. In the off-season, he signed a two-year, $14 million deal. That makes it easy for both sides to separate after just one season, and another team could perhaps look to even trade for a veteran like Trubisky.
Do you agree with Tomlin's assessment of Mitch Trubisky? Will the team move on from the veteran QB after this season? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section, as well as on our social media sites!
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