Pittsburgh Steelers fans were ruthless in expressing their displeasure with Mitch Trubisky’s play in last week’s loss to the New England Patriots, but Mike Tomlin says he has no plans to make a quarterback change.
Tomlin told reporters on Monday that Kenny Pickett has been ruled out again for Week 15 with his ankle injury. Trubisky will make his second consecutive start when the Steelers face the Indianapolis Colts. When asked if he has thought about giving Mason Rudolph a shot, Tomlin said this is not the time to hold an open quarterback competition.
Mike Tomlin on Mason Rudolph:
"He hasn't had a lot of exposure in terms of in-helmet prep. I don't know that we evaluate practice performance in that way. He'll get a chance to work and we'll evaluate that work. But we're not opening up [QB] competition [at this point of the…
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) December 11, 2023
“He hasn’t had a lot of exposure in terms of in-helmet prep,” Tomlin said of Rudolph. “I don’t know that we evaluate practice performance in that way this time of year. He’ll get a chance to work and we’ll evaluate that work. But we’re not opening up competition and things of that nature.”
Trubisky is one of the highest-paid backup quarterbacks in the league. That is probably one reason he is ahead of Rudolph on the depth chart. Rudolph has had plenty of opportunities for the Steelers over the past few seasons, and Tomlin obviously feel Trubisky gives the team a better chance to win.
The Steelers have lost consecutive games to teams that had won just two games on the season when they faced Pittsburgh. There were some baffling playcalls in last week’s 21-18 loss to the Patriots that would not have worked with Rudolph or Trubisky.
Steelers fans can boo the offense all they want, but it is highly unlikely that Rudolph would represent an upgrade over Trubisky. Pittsburgh is 7-6 and still squarely in the playoff hunt. If Tomlin thought Rudolph was the better option, a change would be made.
