Even after Kenny Pickett recovered from his late-season ankle injury, the Steelers stuck with the proverbial “hot hand” by starting Mason Rudolph at quarterback.
In his end-of-season press conference on Thursday, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said the plan entering the offseason is for Pickett to be the club’s QB1. But, Tomlin said, “Obviously, there will be competition.”
“There’s always competition in this thing,” Tomlin said. “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.”
At this point, Tomlin said that the Steelers hope Rudolph will be a part of that competition. But Rudolph is a free agent, so there’s no guarantee of that.
“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.”
Receiver Diontae Johnson mentioned this week that he’d like to have Rudolph be the starter next season. Asked about that, Tomlin said he’s not concerned about a potential rift in the locker room when it comes to quarterback.
“I think competition is good,” Tomlin said. “I think it’s good for all of us. I think it brings out the best in all of us.”
In 12 games this season, Pickett completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards with just six touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating was 81.4.
Rudolph completed 74.3 percent of his throws in four appearances with three starts, passing for 719 yards with three touchdowns and no picks — good for a 118.0 passer rating. In the playoff loss to Buffalo, Rudolph was 22-of-39 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and one pick.
