Kenny Pickett vs. Mitch Trubisky: Mike Tomlin explains where Steelers QB battle stands entering final preseason game

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The Steelers entered the preseason with one of the most wide-open quarterback competitions in the NFL. It remains undecided as the final week of the preseason arrives.

Free agent signee Mitch Trubisky, first-round pick Kenny Pickett and long-term Steelers backup Mason Rudolph are all competing for the chance to be the successor to Ben Roethlisberger. All three have flashed at times during Pittsburgh’s first two preseason contests and that is part of why coach Mike Tomlin has yet to decide which player will be the starter.

Tomlin was asked about the state of the quarterback competition ahead of the Steelers’ final preseason game against the Lions. The veteran coach explained that the matchup with Detroit will represent a strong, final in-game test for each passer.

“A lot of spots are going to come down to this work,” Tomlin said of the position battles entering preseason Week 3, per CBS Sports. “This work is weighted differently, and appropriately so. The in-stadium work is significant, and increasingly so with the more stadium exposure you get. So make no mistake, this is a significant game for a lot of people.” 

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The stadium exposure for Sunday’s contest will be of particular importance because the Steelers are playing at Acrisure Stadium, their home field. That will provide the quarterbacks one final opportunity to stake their claim to the job at the location where Pittsburgh will play half of its games in 2022.

So, where does the Steelers’ quarterback battle stand entering the final week of the preseason? Here’s what to know about the Trubisky vs. Pickett vs. Rudolph competition as it enters its final stage.

Mitch Trubisky stats, preseason highlights

Tomlin said before the Steelers’ Week 1 preseason game that Trubisky would be tapped as the starter if the season started that day. Why?

“Mitch’s silver bullet, if you will, is his fluidity and mobility,” Tomlin explained. “He’s a really good athlete.”

Through two preseason games, Trubisky has shown well. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft has gone 9 of 15 passing for 123 yards and a touchdown in limited action. He hasn’t yet turned the ball over and has 14 rushing yards on two scrambles; he also showed off his mobility on his lone touchdown pass to Gunner Olszewski.

The one qualm with Trubisky is that he has only led the Steelers to that one score in five preseason drives. He scored his touchdown on a 90-yard drive but Pittsburgh has just 92 total yards on his other four drives combined.

Even despite the Steelers going scoreless on Trubisky’s three drives against the Jaguars, Tomlin was pleased with the efforts of the veteran.

“I thought Mitch played well,” Tomlin said of Trubisky, per NFL.com. “I thought he created and extended some things when there wasn’t much there. But we’ve got to do a better job of protecting him and having some semblance of a run game if you want a fair evaluation, and I’m just being bluntly honest.”

Trubisky has started Pittsburgh’s first two preseason games, and he is set to start the final preseason game as well.

That would indicate that Trubisky remains ahead in the quarterback battle.

However, one of Pittsburgh’s other passers is rapidly gaining on him and will make his case to unseat Trubisky against the Lions.

MORE: Mike Tomlin’s message to Steelers QBs about competition ahead of preseason Week 1

Kenny-Pickett-081322-GETTY-FTR

Kenny Pickett stats, preseason highlights

It’s no surprise that Pickett is making a push to unseat Trubisky as Pittsburgh’s No. 1 quarterback. The 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has looked good during his maiden preseason action.

Pickett has completed 19 of 22 passes this preseason for 171 yards and three touchdowns. He shined in his debut against the Seahawks, finishing off a game-winning touchdown drive with just three seconds left in the contest, and followed it up in solid, albeit brief, action against the Jaguars.

What has stood out about Pickett thus far is his ball placement and accuracy. He has routinely made the right read and found his receivers in stride. That’s part of why he had so much success leading the team in the two-minute drill both against the Seahawks and Jaguars.

Also, Pickett has made things happen with his feet. He has logged just 12 yards on four rushing attempts, but he has been able to move while under pressure and still get the ball downfield and into the hands of his playmakers.

Pickett’s performance under pressure in those two-minute drills impressed Tomlin and signaled to the Pittsburgh coach that his new quarterback is, in fact, NFL-ready.

“It’s probably who he is,” Tomlin said of Pickett’s performance in those pressure-packed situations, per NFL.com. “I know he did it next door (at Pitt). He probably did it in high school and he probably did it in little league. Some things, people are born with.”

Pickett has climbed the Steelers’ depth chart from No. 3 overall to No. 2 with his excellent outings in his first two preseason games. Now, he will look to make the leap into the starting spot, and he isn’t that far behind Trubisky in that race — if he is behind at all.

MORE: Full breakdown of Kenny Pickett’s preseason debut vs. Seahawks

Mason Rudolph stats, preseason highlights

Rudolph has performed well during the preseason, but it seems that he is lagging behind in the quarterback competition overall. He was dropped to the third string ahead of preseason Week 2 in wake of Pickett’s great debut, and he will remain in the No. 3 spot entering the finale.

Rudolph has thrown more passes than any of Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks, going 26 of 36 for 220 yards and two touchdowns. He has lived up to the hype on the deep ball, which Tomlin called one of his strengths.

Rudolph has been relegated to third-string duty while Pickett and Trubisky battle for the starting job. He has an outside chance to rise quickly and take the position, but it seems unlikely.

Even still, Tomlin has been impressed with his efforts and had nothing but praise for him after he picked apart Jacksonville’s defense.

I thought he looked like a varsity guy in a JV game and I told him that. You know, it was reminiscent of when we had Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich as backups. When you’ve got a veteran guy like that late in a preseason game at the quarterback position, he should be the best player on the field. It should show. And I thought it did.

So, what is holding Rudolph back? It’s twofold. First, he isn’t as mobile as Trubisky and Pickett. Both have good scrambling skills while Rudolph is a big-armed picket passer.

The other issue is ball security. Like both Trubisky and Pickett, Rudolph hasn’t turned the ball over yet in his action. However, he has fumbled the ball twice during his action while neither Trubisky nor Pickett has been credited with one.

Those two issues will likely keep Rudolph in the No. 3 spot on the Pittsburgh depth chart. However, there remains an outside chance that he could be traded, and he has been connected to the Lions over the last week. So, if the Steelers can get an asset for him, they may make a deal to move on from their likely third-string quarterback.

MORE: When could Kenny Pickett start for the Steelers?

Steelers QB depth chart projection

Currently, this is what the Steelers depth chart at quarterback looks like.

Rank Quarterback
1 Mitch Trubisky
2 Kenny Pickett
3 Mason Rudolph

The team had four quarterbacks on its roster heading into the second preseason game but released seventh-round rookie Chris Oladokun on Tuesday. He didn’t play at all during the preseason.

The starting quarterback battle seems to be turning into a two-man battle between Trubisky and Pickett. Rudolph, meanwhile, seems locked into the third-string role to start the season — if he sticks around.

No matter how you slice it, the Steelers have options, and it will be interesting to see who ends up top following Sunday’s preseason finale against the Lions. The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET and will officially close the 2022 NFL preseason once it comes to an end.

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