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Despite the Steelers’ decision to put the 20th overall pick in the draft on quarterback Kenny Pickett, veteran Mitchell Trubisky has the inside track to be the starter.
Reporting from the team’s training camp, Peter King said Trubisky was basically told he was going to lose the No. 1 job.
To date, Trubisky has not.
“Coach Tomlin is very transparent about the situation,” Trubisky told King. “I’ve been doing all the reps with the ones so far. So I’m just trying not to take any day for granted, just taking this opportunity to continue leading this team.
So will Trubisky win the job? “I’d like to believe that,” he told King.
It makes sense. It’s always easier to go from veteran to first-round rookie than from first-round rookie to veteran. Once Pickett gets the job, it’s going to be very difficult to hand it back to Trubisky or anyone else.
Remember — when the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, he didn’t start right away. It wasn’t until Tommy Maddox was injured that the door opened for the then-rookie.
The Steelers can afford to take their time. The team is driven by the defense and their running game. You don’t need someone throwing the ball all over the place.
Just because things didn’t work out for Trubisky in Chicago doesn’t mean he can’t make it. He helped the team into the playoffs twice in four seasons with the Bears, and things seemed to fall apart not only because of him, but because he didn’t fit into the team’s offensive approach after John Fox was fired and Matt Nagy was hired.