Steelers’ Mike Tomlin says Mitch Trubisky leads QB competition, but ‘it’s tough to manage three capable guys’

Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph still have plenty of time to change things in the Steelers’ quarterback competition.

However, if the Pittsburgh season started tomorrow, coach Mike Tomlin would be rolling with Mitch Trubisky as the team’s starter.

Tomlin made the announcement in an interview with CBS Sports Tuesday, though he noted both Pickett and Rudolph performed well to make it a three-man race.

You make it difficult for us. It’s hard to manage three capable guys, but they force us to do it because they make the moves. You expect the timing was good [and] the accuracy was good.

So what about Trubisky’s performance made him Tomlin’s go-to starter?

“Mitch’s silver bullet, if you will, is his fluidity and mobility,” Tomlin said. “He’s a really good athlete.”

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Tomlin noted in the early stages of the 2022 offseason that the Steelers were looking for a mobile quarterback. So it’s no surprise he appreciates that in the Steelers’ quarterback competition.

Trubisky spent the first four years of his career as a starter for the Bears after being picked No. 2 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. He posted a 29-21 record and posted respectable numbers, including a 64.1 completion rate and 64 touchdowns compared to 38 interceptions during that tenure.

After the Bears moved away from Trubisky, he spent a year in Buffalo as a backup for Josh Allen before joining the Steelers. He explained on Tuesday that getting back in the lead “means a lot” for him.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve come here for the opportunity to create and lead a team. I definitely got that and I’m just trying to take advantage of it every day.

“I think playing for a manager like Coach Tomlin just gives you confidence,” he added. “I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here.”

He taught me so much and I think he really gives everyone on the team confidence in how they prepare and how they know the game. It was a lot of fun, it means a lot to me and I’m just looking forward to it. We’re building day by day and if we were to roll it out I’d go out there first and I’m looking forward to it.

Of course, Trubisky knows that he has to defend his lead in the competition. Tomlin was quick to praise Rudolph and Pickett during his interview, noting that Rudolph “throws a really good deep ball” and that Pickett “was Steady Eddie.”

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But Trubisky believes his teammates’ solid performance will only help him improve.

“We all push each other,” Trubisky explained. “We’re all trying to get better. But at the end of the day it’s a business, it’s a competition.

“But in the quarterback room, we help each other. I’m sharing my past experiences of how I would read things, footwork and just little nuances and stuff like that. So it was great. There was a lot of fun .

And then when you get on the field, you’re just competing and pushing each other, but it’s a lot of fun.”