All signs continue to show the Pittsburgh Steelers could be moving on from starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky sooner rather than later. The offense has continued its struggles from the 2021 season, and Trubisky hasn’t exactly been stellar.
This situation was inevitable after the team selected Kenny Pickett 20th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Trubisky would have had to put up MVP-type numbers in order to avoid an eventual benching this season. The team’s record of 1-2 doesn’t help his matter either, but head coach Mike Tomlin does seem to continue to side with Trubisky.
He may be the only one though, as Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio stated that many within the organization are pushing for Pickett to start. On PFT alongside co-host and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, Florio reported:
“Trubisky is on thin ice with everyone in the organization except the head coach [Mike Tomlin]. There’s a strong push in that building to turn the page to Kenny Pickett,” Florio said. “The frustration was that Trubisky wasn’t pulling the trigger. These guys are open, and he’s not throwing the ball.”
Now, Florio made it clear that he had heard these things before the Thursday night loss to the Cleveland Browns. Trubisky showed some signs of improvement in that loss, particularly in the first half. Tomlin highlighted those things in his weekly press conference on Tuesday, citing that the offense, Trubisky included, has continued to make improvements.
Trubisky did at least attempt to go down field more often in Week 3, including the throw to rookie George Pickens, who made one of the crazier catches you will ever see. It’s clear that everyone is getting restless with Trubisky and this low-scoring offense. As Florio mentioned, there is no “backup offensive coordinator,” but there is a backup quarterback to turn to.
Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan would make the most sense as offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s replacement. That is, if Canada were to be fired in the middle of the season, which would be very rare for the Steelers to do. Essentially, it’s harder to replace an offensive coordinator in the middle of a season than a quarterback. Canada has started to take some blame for the rough start to the season, as he’s been heavily criticized around Pittsburgh for his play-calling.
If the offense’s struggles continue for a few more weeks, it’s quite inevitable that the quarterback job will be Pickett’s sooner rather than later. Even if Tomlin continues to show support for Trubisky, the noise will become too loud outside of the locker room. That goes beyond just the fans, as it sounds like those within the organization are already becoming unsettled in the first season of the post-Ben Roethlisberger era.
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