It looks like the Pittsburgh Steelers are making a bit of a change at the quarterback position.
During Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, the Steelers benched quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in favor of Mason Rudolph, with Kenny Pickett still injured. And head coach Mike Tomlin announced that Rudolph will get the start against the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend.
“It’s our intention, as we sit here today, to give Mason Rudolph an opportunity to start,” Tomlin said at his Monday press conference according to Pro Football Talk. “He’s a veteran guy. he’s a backup, but he’s also a veteran guy. He’s been in our program a long time. he’s here for those reasons. We’ve got a great deal of comfort with him.”
Tomlin explained that the team simply was not scoring enough with Trubisky leading the way and decided to make a change.
“Man, we don’t like what we’re looking at and the consistency of it,” Tomlin said of the reason for the change. “What I mean is, we’re not scoring enough points. Particularly as you move into December football, man, you’ve got to score more than 12, 14, 16 points in games this time of year. You better assume that others are doing the same. The engineering of victory is not going to be fluid if you’re not doing those things. And obviously, by nature of the position, the guy that has the ball at the quarterback position, that’s a catalyst for change and opportunity. So, we want to give him some snaps from a preparation standpoint, some in-helmet perspective.
“Not dumping the outcome of the game at Mitch’s feet — I’m not saying that. But I am saying the guy at that position is at the controls and does have a big say in how some things unfold. And it’s more about, really, Mason Rudolph being deserving of an opportunity and us trying to change the trajectory of what’s been transpiring.”
Tomlin did say that there is a chance that Kenny Pickett could return to the field this week, but it sounds most likely that Rudolph will be the team’s starter against Cincinnati.
