Expect Pittsburgh Steelers To Enter Season With Kenny Pickett As Backup QB — For Now

As badly as Pittsburgh Steelers fans want Kenny Pickett to start, it won’t happen — in Week 1, at least.

The dominant talking point for the Steelers entering their final preseason game versus the Detroit Lions is whether Pickett or veteran Mitch Trubisky will start the team’s season opener versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

Entering the team’s final preseason matchup, head coach Mike Tomlin stresses that this week will be “significant” in determining who will start at quarterback for the Steelers.

By all accounts, all three of the Steelers’ quarterbacks have been impressive this preseason. However, it’s Pickett that has people talking to due to his quick decision-making and poise as a rookie quarterback.

The 24-year-old Pickett — who is actually older than the Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love, a 2020 first-round draft selection — has shown that he may be ready to take over the Steelers’ starting quarterback job quicker than people expected.

Through the first two preseason games, Pickett has gone 19-of-22 for 171 passing yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. By comparison, Trubisky has also done nothing to lose his hold on the starting job, going 9-of-15 for 123 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

It may be true that Pickett is the more dynamic of the two quarterbacks, with Trubisky beginning his third stint with a team after he was selected No. 2 overall in the 2017 NFL draft. However, expect Tomlin to go with the veteran in Week 1, with Trubisky holding a short leash thereafter.

Once Trubisky falters or the Steelers hit a rough patch — five of their first eight games are against playoff teams from last season — Tomlin won’t hesitate to plug Pickett in.

As Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com notes, Trubisky continues to take most of the first-team reps in practice. Furthermore, the Steelers’ offensive line is still a work in progress, which likely leads to Pittsburgh going with the veteran over the rookie early on.

“The most common phrase during Steelers preseason games the last two weeks has been ‘Trubisky back to pass, pocket collapses.’ It’s been hard to evaluate Mitch Trubisky under constant duress, but he’s held up pretty well,” says Rosenthal. “Considering that he’s still taking all the first-team reps in practice, it’s hard to imagine Kenny Pickett taking his job.”

Rosenthal also predicts that the Steelers will go with Trubisky over Pickett for Week 1. However, he also believes that Pittsburgh will turn to Pickett soon enough shortly after.

“The Steelers offensive line has been so bad throughout camp and in the preseason that Tomlin may be wary of putting a rookie behind it in Week 1, but it’s a matter of time now before it’s Pickett’s team,” says Rosenthal.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Steelers have ranked among the bottom in pass protection during the preseason, posting a 51.8 grade and ranking 28th among all teams. During the 2021 season, Pittsburgh’s offensive line posted a 56.2 pass-blocking grade, ranking 15th in the league.

In other words, the Steelers have had offensive line issues for awhile now.

With the exception of right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and left guard Kevin Dotson, each of the Steelers’ other starting offensive linemen have posted a 64.8 offensive grade or lower this preseason.

Adam Schefter of ESPN echoed a similar sentiment where he expects Trubisky to start early on. However, as soon as he “stumbles,” Pickett should take over the starting job.

“I think the feeling around the league has been that Mitchell Trubisky was in line to be the opening day starter,” said Schefter. “And when you talk to people now, here’s what you keep hearing: that the young kid is coming on – and he’s coming quick. And so I don’t know when they’re gonna get to Kenny Pickett, but they’re gonna get to Kenny Pickett, at some point in the season.”

“I think essentially, as soon as Mitchell Trubisky has a stumble early in the season, that’ll open the door to get to Kenny Pickett and get Pittsburgh a chance to go to the quarterback that seems to get better at practice every single day, that seems to impress them more and more, all the time,” Schefter continues.

Trubisky signed a two-year, $14.3 million deal with the Steelers this offseason to enter as the starter, and as an insurance policy in case Pickett wasn’t ready to take over as the franchise quarterback.

Pittsburgh will allow Trubisky to start the season, take his bumps behind a bad offensive line and eventually Pickett will take over the job and become a hero during the second half of the season, where only one of their final seven opponents made the playoffs last season.

Pickett will start — it just won’t be in Week 1.