Mitch Trubisky has been the No. 1 quarterback in Pittsburgh since the start of training camp and he’ll remain in that role when the team plays its first preseason game on Saturday.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Trubisky will get the start against the Seahawks. Mason Rudolph and first-round pick Kenny Pickett are expected to follow Trubisky into the game, although Tomlin said that the exact playing time everyone hasn’t been totally sorted out at this point.
“We’ve got every intention of playing the three quarterbacks,” Tomlin said, via the team’s website. “How much is to be determined. We have a template or framework in which we we’d like to attack this in terms of participation and division of labor. We’ve got every intention of the first group playing a quarter, the second groups playing the second and third quarter and then the third group playing the fourth quarter. . . . It’s not going to be hard lines. We’re going to do what we feel is appropriate. Our goal is to come out of this game giving everybody an opportunity to show what they’re capable of and gain a better understanding of their play under real football like circumstances, and so that’s exciting.”
Tomlin said seeing how all of the team’s players “move and function fluidly in the midst of actual play is a significant step” after weeks of training camp practices. He said the way players perform “under those circumstances are weighted more heavily,” so it should prove to be an important milestone in the quarterback competition.
