Kenny Pickett back to Steelers QB1 but Mike Tomlin hopes Mason Rudolph returns to compete

He didn’t resort to trademark “Tomlinisms,” or deploy the extra wordiness he’s sometimes wont to do.

Instead, Mike Tomlin’s use of an extraordinarily elongated vowel delivered most of his message when he was asked about the man who still seeks to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ franchise quarterback.

“It’s a huuuuuuuge year for him,” Tomlin said of Kenny Pickett.

But it’s a year — an offseason, at least — in which Pickett will begin with a status as the Steelers’ “QB1.”

Former No. 3 quarterback Mason Rudolph provided some of the best results by a Steelers quarterback in recent years over the past four weeks, but Tomlin confirmed Pickett will resume his status atop the depth chart.

“But,” Tomlin said Thursday during his annual season-ending news conference, “obviously there will be competition. There’s always competition in this thing. We don’t anoint anyone.

“I am 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 of in all of us.”

Tomlin also made it clear he hopes that competition — or at least some of it — comes from Rudolph. The six-year veteran had a better cumulative passer rating over his four starts (including Monday’s wild-card round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills) than Pickett has posted in any single game of his career.

“But (Rudolph) is a free agent, and it is free agency,” Tomlin said. “So we will see where that leads us.”

Tomlin said it’s the hope of the Steelers that Mason Rudolph is back in 2024 pic.twitter.com/GNudTkX6V8

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 18, 2024

With the exception of Mitch Trubisky — whom Tomlin said he hadn’t met with yet since the season ended — Tomlin spent a significant portion of his 33-minute news conference showering his quarterbacks with compliments.

Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick out of Pitt, started the first 12 games last season before suffering an ankle injury. Trubisky, signed by the Steelers twice over the past two years to well-compensated contracts for a backup, started the next two. But Rudolph, who signed in May for the veteran minimum and had remained QB3 for the seven months since, guided the Steelers to a season-ending three-game winning streak. Tomlin stuck with him for the playoffs, even after Pickett had healed.

“I don’t think that any of us can deny what we’ve seen over the last month or so,” Tomlin said of Rudolph. “I cannot underscore how impressive it was to be ready to deliver … and he was. And that preparedness showed. Certainly, we’re less speculative about his capabilities because there’s more evidence of it, and evidence of it in tough circumstances.”

Tomlin was referring, in part, to both the urgency of a playoff race and sloppy weather conditions the past two weeks in Baltimore and Buffalo. But Tomlin, too, admired how Pickett approached tough circumstances of a much different type: as the supposed franchise quarterback, Pickett had to accept what was (however temporary) a benching.

“I was really impressed with the way he handled it,” Tomlin said. “He was really professional and supportive of Mason. He was a great teammate. But no question, that was difficult. And he’s a competitor. He runs to it and not away from it. And certainly, I know he wanted that experience, the big divisional games down the stretch and things of that nature. He’s wired in that way.”

Mike Tomlin says he still has confidence in Kenny Pickett pic.twitter.com/TEQL7uPURU

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 18, 2024

Twenty-four starts into his pro career, Pickett has only 13 touchdown passes for a TD pass percentage rate of 1.9%, which is worst in NFL history (minimum 500 attempts). Pickett finished 27th among 32 qualifying NFL quarterbacks this season with an 81.4 passer rating, 26th in yards per attempt (6.4), 28th in completion percentage (62.0%), 28th in QBR (38.5) and 37th overall in touchdown passes (six).

Still, Pickett clearly has a fan in Tomlin.

“I’m extremely confident in him,” Tomlin said. “I feel stronger about some of the intangible things than I did when we first started doing business with him because I have evidence of it. He’s highly competitive and professional. He doesn’t run from challenges — he runs to challenges. I think that’s evident in the way he plays, particularly in close football games. He’s got good framework to work with for a young guy. He’s mature beyond his years. I am excited about him.”

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