No change in Steelers' quarterback rotation for preseason finale against Lions

Mike Tomlin is keeping the status quo with the rotation of his quarterbacks in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason finale.

Mitch Trubisky will start the game Sunday against the Detroit Lions at Acrisure Stadium. Rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett will be the first quarterback of the bench. Veteran Mason Rudolph, the longest tenured quarterback with the Steelers, will finish the game.

It is the same order Tomlin deployed last weekend in Jacksonville.

The start will be Trubisky’s third of the preseason. Rudolph was the top backup in the preseason opener but has watched Pickett move into the No. 2 spot the past two weeks.

“I don’t know how much exposure each will get,” Tomlin said Friday. “It really is determined by the number of snaps we have, the level of success rate we have in terms of possession downs and time of possession.”

Trubisky progressed from playing two series in the opener to three against Jacksonville. Pickett replaced him with six minutes left in the first half. Rudolph played the entire second half.

For Rudolph, it will mark the first time since he was drafted by the Steelers in 2018 that he hasn’t started at least one preseason game. In previous years, of course, he was competing to be Ben Roethlisberger’s backup.

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This year, he entered training camp with an expectation of competing for the starting job only to watch Trubisky get most of the first-team reps in practice.

“It’s about how do you react to the hand you’ve been dealt, and how do you overcome adversity?” Rudolph said earlier in the week. “I think I’ve done that well. This team has done that well.”

Pickett has gotten more snaps with the first-team offense in recent weeks after entering training camp at the No. 3 quarterback.

“You can’t pass up game reps, really,” he said. “There’s nothing that really duplicates that. So to be able to get a couple drives there against Jacksonville, you get used to those guys in the huddle. They get used to me. It was a great experience.”

No matter which quarterback starts the Sept. 11 opener in Cincinnati, it will be the first time in Tomlin’s tenure with the Steelers that he will begin the season without Roethlisberger on the roster. He previously said he was looking forward to the “anxiety” of coaching a new quarterback, but then admitted Friday that he wasn’t serious.

“I was just giving you that. I don’t know how much anxiety I have,” Tomlin said. “I’m excited about competition and opportunity and change. I thoughtfully run to those things, and I want our team to as well.”

To that end, Tomlin praised all three quarterbacks and the way they have competed to this point of the preseason. Trubisky, Pickett and Rudolph have three-digit quarterback ratings, with Pickett topping out at 138.6 with 19 completions in 22 attempts, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

“I was optimistic (they would meet the challenge),” Tomlin said, “and I think they’ve met my expectations.”

The preseason finale also will determine whether the offensive line can rebound from such a shaky performance against Jacksonville that Tomlin challenged the unit heading into the week of practice.

“Seemingly, it has been a good week, but we’ll turn the tape on from Sunday and judge it that way,” Tomlin said. “That’s how we are always judged.”

The line regressed from the season opener when the Steelers rushed for 185 yards and all three quarterbacks threw a touchdown pass. The rushing total nosedived to 24 yards against Jacksonville, and Trubisky was sacked once and pressured six times on his 10 dropbacks.

“The biggest thing is how we respond,” center Mason Cole said. “How we respond this week in practice and how we respond in the game. There is no panic in our room about what we have to do. We know how good of a line we can be. We just have to do it. The big thing is when you put bad stuff on film, you want to get it off as quick as possible.”

For the first time this preseason, running back Najee Harris is expected to run behind a group that includes Cole and right guard James Daniels as newcomers. Tomlin said all healthy players are going to play against the Lions, and Harris is no longer limited by a foot injury he sustained early in camp.

“We’re staying true to our mindset,” Tomlin said. “Those that are injured, we’re going to leave the light on for them until the 11th hour. We’ll be optimistic and inclusive about their participation.”