Mitch Trubisky

Tomlin said postgame he is “definitively” not planning to make a quarterback change. The 16th-year Steelers HC went further before his team's Week 3 game.

[Mason Rudolph](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RudoMa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) in place. With Pickett having leapfrogged Rudolph on the depth chart, it would surprise if the longtime [Ben Roethlisberger](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RoetBe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) backup usurped Trubisky anytime soon. [Jordan Love](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LoveJo03.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) and [Patrick Mahomes](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MahoPa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) (save for a Week 17 cameo five years ago) were able to go through full-on redshirt years, their respective teams had solid-to-excellent (in [Aaron Rodgers](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RodgAa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)‘ case) starters. Pickett questions will likely continue for the Steelers, whose offense appears to have a low ceiling as presently constructed. Then again, the franchise prioritizing Pickett’s growth over 2022 success would make sense as a long-term plan. Trubisky checks in well below the Rodgers or Chiefs-years [Alex Smith](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=SmitAl03,SmitAl02&search=Alex+Smith&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) level. This plan would qualify as a zag compared to how most teams have handled first-round quarterbacks over the past decade.](https://cdn.profootballrumors.com/files/2022/09/USATSI_18946197.jpg) Trubisky only spent one season as a full-time college starter — at North Carolina in 2016 — but was among the bevy of first-round picks to take their NFL team’s reins early in his first season. Pickett played well during the preseason, but Trubisky was viewed as the first-stringer throughout the offseason. [Kenny Pickett](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/kenny-pickett-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-) a true redshirt year, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer ( [h/t Awful Announcing](https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1569004514367385601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1569004514367385601%7Ctwgr%5E387cc4a1c187f3a109e1f69eb3eded1b2add400e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.outkick.com%2Fmike-tomlin-mitch-trubisky-nfl-narratives-collapse%2F)), who adds Tomlin told him, “This is Trubisky’s team.” [This endorsement says a lot about the Steelers’ Pickett timeline, and while it would still be stunning if the team sat its first-round quarterback throughout the season, Tomlin’s pregame and postgame stances makes it look like a long NFL onramp is indeed being built for this year’s No. Excluding the Mahomes-Love- Tomlin said postgame he is “definitively” not planning to make a quarterback change.