It may seem like the Pittsburgh Steelers were just putting the cap on their 2022 season but believe it or not Training Camp is right around the corner. As the Steelers prepare for their trip East to Latrobe, we’re getting ready too. We’ll be previewing the 90 players participating at St. Vincent College position by position. In this article we look at the quarterbacks.
Currently on the Roster
Kenny Pickett – 2nd season
Mitchell Trubisky – 7th season
Mason Rudolph – 6th Season
Tanner Morgan – Rookie
Kenny Pickett
A first round selection in 2022, Pickett made his first appearance for Mike Tomlin in week four against the New York Jets. He would go on to start 12 games amassing a record of 7-5. Twice Pickett was forced to leave games due to concussions. This season he’ll be wearing a new helmet which is believed to be the best possible helmet for preventing head injuries. Should the offensive line – and the helmet – do their respective jobs then Pickett has no reason not to improve upon his rookie campaign.
2022 Stats:
245 completions
389 attempts
64% completion rate
2,404 yards passing
7 touchdowns
9 interceptions
55 Carries
237 yards Rushing
3 Rushing TDs
3 4th Quarter Comebacks
4 Game-winning drives
Pickett enters as the clear-cut starting quarterback. He showed steady improvement from his first appearance through his final game. It is expected that the offense will be opened up more in his second season. Make no mistake about it, Mike Tomlin wants to run the ball, take care of the ball and play great defense. But he knows that Pickett will be called upon to win games where that formula isn’t quite working.
Should we expect improved stats from Pickett this season? Absolutely. Much of the this team’s success will ride on him having better numbers across the board. Anyone expecting Pickett to suddenly throw for 30 or more touchdowns needs to slow down a bit. That would be great. but we must be realistic here. I think 20 to 25 touchdowns is more likely. But in order to do this, he must throw with anticipation better and get more play-action opportunities.
Last season, despite Pickett being a rookie, Matt Canada’s offense ranked near the bottom of the league in play-action and that’s just awful. This must be improved on for this season.
Mitchell Trubisky
Clearly the Steelers felt like keeping Trubisky was a priority. Despite a salary that is much greater than most backup QBs earn, he returns to Pittsburgh knowing full well he will be on the sidelines. Considering what we saw with Pickett’s injuries last year, then Trubisky knows he must be ready to go. He started five games last season going 2-3 in the process.
2022 Stats:
117 completions
180 attempts
65% completion percentage
1,252 yards passing
4 touchdowns
5 interceptions
1 game-winning drive
If were Trubisky, I wouldn’t get too complacent. While I don’t see Mason Rudolph over-taking him for the backup job, Trubisky should still keep on his toes. His biggest asset as a backup is experience, but he’s also still quite mobile and those differences will keep him in the number two spot.
Mason Rudolph
If you would have told me that I’d be typing his name in this article when last season ended I would have said you were crazy. I honestly didn’t see any way that he would return. As we’ve said many times in these spaces and on our podcast, Rudolph just doesn’t possess the adequate skills to be a full-time starter. Keep in mind that him returning also means that the other 31 teams in the NFL weren’t exactly knocking his door down. That said, Rudolph knows the offense as well as both Pickett and Trubisky and he has capabilities but I’d still plan on him holding a clipboard on gameday.
Tanner Morgan
Living in Big Ten country I saw a lot of Morgan’s career in Minnesota. He’s a heavily experienced guy who played in over 50 games for the Golden Gophers. He threw for over 9,000 yards and had 65 touchdowns against 32 interceptions. Morgan is a solid leader who has played through injury numerous times. At best, he’s a Practice Squad player for the Steelers in 2023 but we’ve seen the movie before where a “camp arm” comes out of nowhere to make the roster. I wouldn’t bet on it here though barring injury.
Roster Predictions
Pickett, Trubisky, Rudolph
Morgan – Practice Squad
