Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett entered the season as the full-time starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but after he was replaced by veteran Mason Rudolph late in the season, it sounds like his future as the team’s starter is a little bit uncertain.
During his press conference on Thursday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that while the plans is that Kenny Pickett will head into spring as the team’s first-team quarterback, there will “obviously” be a competition for that role.
“There’s always competition in this thing,” Tomlin said according to Pro Football Talk. “We don’t anoint anyone. Man, I’m appreciative of [Pickett’s] efforts and where he is and excited about continuing to work with him. But certainly, he will be challenged from a competition perspective moving forward. Competition brings the best out in all of us.”
The most obvious source of that competition would seem to be Rudolph, but his future with the team is a little bit uncertain as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“We’ve got a lot of decisions regarding free agency,” Tomlin said. “Mason is going to be a free agent. So I’d be speculating about some of those things.”
But regardless, it sounds like Pittsburgh is committed to holding an open competition to choose the best starting quarterback available, and that led to a lot of reactions on social media.
May i introduce you to Zach Wilson? https://t.co/pRnchDrXAY
— CB (@TakeFlightCB) January 18, 2024
Draft coming soon
— Swapnil Vats (@iamswapnilvats) January 18, 2024
They need to draft a guy. Pickett isn't it
— Ray Brice (@rbrice88) January 18, 2024
Kenny Pickett is competition for Kenny Pickett
— Off The Wagon (@OTWSportsRadio) January 18, 2024
Won’t be a tough one lol
— masyn winn (@masynwinn1) January 18, 2024
We’ll have to see who the team ultimately chooses for its starting quarterback – though there’s still several months until that decision comes.
