Steelers' Mike Tomlin Gave Definitive Answer Regarding Any Late 2023 QB Competition

The Pittsburgh Steelers are recovering and hopefully regrouping from two devastating losses in a row. Both came against 2-10 teams that the Steelers should have been able to beat. During the Week 13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was injured just before halftime and was unable to play in the Week 14 game against the New England Patriots. In his place, Head Coach Mike Tomlin had backup Mitch Trubisky under center. Trubisky did not play like a former first-round draft pick and fans are frustrated, many calling for third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph to take over. During his most recent press conference, Tomlin put to rest any rumors about switching quarterbacks. 

Rudolph has been with the Steelers since they drafted him in the third round in 2018. He spent the majority of his career serving as a backup to future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger, getting to come in and play during Roethlisberger's many injuries. After Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season, the Steelers acquired Trubisky as a free agent and picked up Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft. 

Pickett, Trubisky, and Rudolph had the opportunity to compete for the number one spot during camp that year. Trubisky won the starting job with Pickett as his backup. After Trubisky underperformed, he was benched by Tomlin in favor of Pickett. None of this has ever sat right with the Rudolph fans, many of whom believe that he should have won the starting job in 2022. 

Now, with Trubisky again struggling to lead this team and Pickett not set to return potentially until the last game of the season, folks are demanding answers. They want Tomlin to allow Rudolph to compete for the job against Trubisky. Tomlin made it clear that he does not think that is appropriate heading into the Week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts. 

"[Rudolph] just hasn't had a lot of exposure in terms of in-helmet prep. When you say, 'Fair evaluation and shot,' I don't know that we evaluate and practice performance in that way at this time of year. He will get an opportunity to get some work and we will evaluate that work and evaluate his readiness, but we're not opening up competition and things of that nature. It's just not the environment for that as we work," said Tomlin.

Rudolph is in his sixth season with the team, but has only had opportunities to play in three seasons - 2019, 2020, and 2021. His career stats are 236 completions out of 384 attempted passes for 2,366 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. His career passer rating is 80.9. 

With Pickett being unable to play, Rudolph does move into the number two spot. According to Tomlin, this means that he will get more reps. However, Tomlin minimized the importance of Rudolph getting first-team reps when he was asked. Tomlin said that everyone is getting more reps since they will have a full week to prepare, versus the short week they had last week with a Thursday night game. 

"Mason will get an opportunity to get some reps, certainly. You don't get an opportunity to get a lot of that, particularly when you're at the three spot. When you're at the two spot and you have a full week, certainly. Last week, there were a limited amount of reps for all parties involved. So he will certainly get more opportunities this week from a preparation standpoint."

It is certainly reasonable for fans to be concerned as the team heads out to Indianapolis. Everyone expected the Steelers to bounce back and win big against the Patriots and when that didn't happen, it set off alarm bells. The team has looked like a disorganized mess in all phases of the game over the past two weeks. 

The Steelers are remarkably enough still in a position to make the playoffs, but they have to win. The Colts, who are also 7-6, need to win as well. Unfortunately, the Colts offense has stepped up to the plate to find ways to win after their starting quarterback went down. The Steelers offense hasn't been able to do that. 

Steelers' Mike Tomlin Still Has Faith In Mitch Trubisky

Trubisky looked incompetent during the past game and a half. In just those handful of quarters, he completed 33 of 52 attempted passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. While the fans might not have confidence in Trubisky and his decision-making skills, Tomlin said that he does. 

"I thought it improved as the game wore on and I think with a full week's prep, I think it's reasonable to expect that to continue and at an increased rate."

The Rudolph fan club will continue to advocate for him to be given a chance. However, Roethlisberger recently voiced his disagreement with this sentiment. He noted that if Rudolph was so good, he would have gotten his shot by now. He has been with Pittsburgh a long time and Tomlin knows him quite well. If he isn't playing, there must be a good reason. 

It will be interesting to see if Trubisky does continue to improve as Tomlin seems to think he will. If not and the team is stuck without Pickett for another couple of weeks, will they give Rudolph a shot? 

Who do you think should be starting at quarterback? Click to comment below. 

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