After a ton of speculation this offseason on who would be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team finally announced on Monday that Mitchell Trubisky would be the team’s starter heading into their Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The team had a long quarterback battle this offseason involving Trubisky, rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph, but star wide receiver Diontae Johnson revealed earlier this week that the team knew all along who the starter was going to be.
“They said he was the starter actually during camp, but I guess they didn’t really mention it to y’all,” Johnson told Steelers reporter Brooke Pryor. “But we kind of already knew that.”
On Trubisky starting, Diontae Johnson laughed said the team's known Trubisky was the starter since camp.
"They said he was the starter actually during camp, but I guess they didn't, they didn't really mention it to y'all, but we kind of already knew."
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 7, 2022
It seems that this “battle” may have been a formality that led to Trubisky being the starter all along, and to throw off the media when constantly asking about their quarterback situation.
Many Steelers fans were hoping that Pickett may get a chance as the team’s starter after being taken in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but he will begin the season as the No.2 quarterback behind Trubisky.
Trubisky has shown in the past that he can help his team win if put in a good situation, going 11-3 in 2018 with the Chicago Bears and leading them to a playoff birth.
That being said, there is a reason the Bears parted ways with Trubisky, and it will certainly be interesting to see if he can continue the long-term success that the Steelers organization has shown over the years in his first year as a starting quarterback since the 2020 season.