Tim Benz: Yes, Mitch Trubisky is getting a raw deal with the Steelers, but he should've seen it coming

A sidebar conversation about the Kenny Pickett era starting with the Pittsburgh Steelers is how quickly the Mitch Trubisky era may be ending.

The next guy after Ben Roethlisberger may have only worn the crown for three-and-a-half games.

For many Steelers fans and Pitt football supporters, those were probably three-and-a-half games too many.

For those who endorsed the signing of Trubisky, you may have the opinion that the sample size is too small to warrant a seat on the bench behind the team’s first-round draft choice.

It certainly seems like Trubisky feels that way. After being pulled at halftime during the Steelers’ 24-20 loss at Acrisure Stadium, Trubisky was understandably short with media members.

“It doesn’t matter what I think. (Coach Tomlin) did what he thought was best for the team,” Trubisky said. “It’s a tough deal. It’s definitely not what I wanted. Not what I expected. But that’s part of it.”

At one point, Trubisky was asked if he thought his benching was performance related or if head coach Mike Tomlin was “looking for a spark” from Pickett.

“You’ll have to ask him,” Trubisky replied.

A second reporter replied that “a spark” is what Tomlin had just said in his press conference that ended moments before.

Trubisky nodded his head a few times and said, “Looking for a spark. There you go.”

When asked about Pickett’s performance, Trubisky said, “I thought he did a good job. We’ve just got to protect the football and get back to work.”

Do you think Tomlin will come back to you, Mitch?

“Who knows.”

And so it went.

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Trust me. I don’t blame Trubisky for being terse. Who wouldn’t be? Not just for how the game went. But for how things have gone down all year.

With the No. 1 pick, hometown college hero quarterback having received his first nibble of playing time, the presumption is that Tomlin has crossed the Rubicon. There’s no turning back, and Pickett is going to be the starter moving forward.

Just like that, Trubisky’s hand-picked career-rehabilitation project in Pittsburgh barely lasted into October before he was sent back to the bench. Just like he had been at times in Chicago. Just like where he was anchored in Buffalo behind Josh Allen.

So did Trubisky get a raw deal from the Steelers? I’m sure there are plenty of Pickett sycophants who would respond by saying, “Who cares?! It’s Kenny time!”

I hear you. Pickett has a higher ceiling. I’ve always been much more on board with his drafting than I was with Trubisky’s signing.

Plus, Trubisky hasn’t played very well. His passer rating is 73.7 — 31st in the NFL. His completion percentage is 59.5 — 28th in the NFL. His 5.6 yards per attempt are dead last in the NFL. He wasn’t using his athleticism to run very much (just 24 yards in four starts). The team’s 278.8 total yards per game average is 30th in the league, and their 18.5 points per contest are 25th.

Based on those numbers, a change is completely warranted. That said, the offensive woes are not all on Trubisky, and there is nothing he can do about Tomlin’s vastly overrated defense.

Again, though, the Steelers were going nowhere with Trubisky. As a result, I understand giving Pickett a try. If Trubisky is chapped about that, tough luck.

But that doesn’t answer the question, “What was Trubisky expecting when he signed here versus the reality he’s living now?”

That’s been an obvious problem for many veterans who have come to Pittsburgh in recent years, only to leave disgruntled after not getting the playing time they thought they’d get. Players such as Melvin Ingram, LeGarrette Blount, Nick Vannett and James Harrison during his second stint in Black and Gold.

For as sympathetic as I want to be to Trubisky, if he didn’t understand that the Steelers might draft a quarterback in the first round, then he and his agents just didn’t do their homework. The Steelers had been scouting draft-eligible quarterbacks for months.

On top of that, if they also didn’t take into account the dynamics of what life would be like if Trubisky was a starter in front of Pickett if he was selected out of Pitt, then they were being naive.

I think that was the case more than anything. When Trubisky signed in March, he came off as confident, eager and ready to rock. Neither the prospect of a first-round QB nor the ghosts of Roethlisberger appeared to worry him.

As recently as OTAs in May — a month after Pickett was drafted — Trubisky was outwardly unfazed. At the start of training camp, it was Trubisky more than Rudolph or Pickett who was holding onto the ball the longest, waiting in the pocket for plays to develop in practice — pushing the ball down the field and refusing to check down just to make the safe reads.

The tone changed during the preseason. Once the “Kenny, Kenny, Kenny!” chants started at Heinz Field. Once Pickett played (and played well) early in actual competition. Once Pickett passed Rudolph on the depth chart, despite strong training camp and preseason outings from Rudolph. Once the non-stop talk show and internet speculation kicked up about when (not if) Trubisky would yield his starting spot to Pickett.

• It was then that Trubisky seemed to understand that maybe a different purpose was being served than what he expected.

• It was then that Trubisky seemed more bothered by the media crush.

• It was then that the regular season started, and Trubisky played conservatively and approached each offensive drive with the obvious goal of not screwing up, more so than getting points.

It was as if Trubisky didn’t want to take chances for fear of getting benched because of turnovers. And I wonder if he didn’t run as much as he could’ve because he was leery of even getting the least bit dinged up and losing a starting spot to Pickett due to injury.

Trubisky was desperately afraid of losing his starting gig due to playing risky, and instead, he may have lost it because he was being too cautious.

Or he just lost it because he was doing what he was told to do. As opposed to Pickett, who came in and threw caution to the wind, yet also threw the ball to the other team three times in 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, Trubisky has just two interceptions in three and a half games. Do you think that’s where his “we just have to take care of the football” dart came from? I do.

If it’s possible for someone to say Trubisky got a raw deal, without feeling too badly for him, then that’s where I am. He tried hard, took an inordinate amount of blame and was placed in a no-win situation. Was he sold a false bill of goods or misled? Only he and Steelers management know the truth.

But if Trubisky couldn’t see this set of circumstances coming with Pickett potentially getting in the mix, maybe he doesn’t have the vision to be an NFL starter in the first place.

Sal Capaccio of WGR Radio in Buffalo joins Tim for Tuesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast to preview Sunday’s Steelers vs. Bills game in Buffalo.

Listen: Tim Benz and Sal Capaccio preview the Steelers-Bills game