Mitch Trubisky said this week that he is preparing to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback this season and that’s how the Steelers would take the field if the season were to start today.
Offensive coordinator Matt Canada confirmed that Trubisky is the No. 1 quarterback with Mason Rudolph at No. 2 and first-round pick Kenny Pickett in the third spot on the depth chart. Canada said the team is “working it that way based on experience, based on resume” but that they also have “a real laid-out plan of how we are going to evolve” as they move closer to the start of the regular season.
“For us, you want to find the best guy,” Canada said, via Noah Strackbein of SI.com. “However, what makes him the best? Does he take care of the ball, is it plays in the red zone, how he leads the team, and all those things? That’s a coach Tomlin decision. We are making that decision every day. Right now, that plan is so clear. We’re putting in our offense and lots of our offense. We are going to try to find who does special intangible things. Through all of that, we’ll find our guy.”
As long as Trubisky is the first man up in the practice rotation, he’ll be on track to be the starter against the Bengals on September 11 but there’s plenty of time for the picture to shift before the AFC North teams square off.