Mike Tomlin gives initial thoughts on quarterback competition

The Pittsburgh Steelers got their guy to replace Ben Roethlisberger, but there seems to be no rush to thrust Kenny Pickett into the spotlight after the signing of Mitch Trubisky. Head coach Mike Tomlin will ultimately make the call on who starts at quarterback this season, and he gave the first update on the quarterback competition this week.

During an appearance on NFL Network’s Rich Eisen Show, Mike Tomlin provided a starting point for the quarterback competition and evaluated what the biggest challenge will be for him.

“I expect it to be fierce, because I know all three guys,” said Tomlin. “I don’t expect anyone to take a backseat. The challenge is, from a structure standpoint, are we providing enough of a platform for all the guys to show what they’re capable of? And so that’s going to be the challenge component of it.

“I’m excited about watching these guys compete, just like I am at any position where you’ve got some viable options. So we’ll proceed with that understanding that it’s going to be challenging from an organization standpoint, but it’s a good challenge and I’m excited about watching those guys perform.”

In addition to the two new faces, Mason Rudolph returns after a long stint as the backup in Pittsburgh with his eyes set on the starting job. With all three looking to kickstart their careers as a starter after faces some doubters on the outside, it promises to bring the fierce competition their coach is looking for from them.

Pittsburgh Steelers on Kenny Pickett

There was a lot of talk about Kenny Pickett’s hand measurement heading towards the 2022 NFL Draft but as he became the No. 1 quarterback off the board, it’s clear that talk was just wasted breath. The Pittsburgh Steelers chose the Pittsburgh Panthers star with the No. 20 overall pick on night one, placing high hopes on the quarterback who could take over after the long Ben Roethlisberger era.

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, who is retiring after the dust settles on the draft, discussed how much of a factor the organization considered Pickett’s hand size of 8.5 inches to be before drafting him.

“Honestly, I never paid attention to that,” Colbert said to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio. “We look at the results. We watch Kenny play in our environment. … Can he throw the football? Absolutely. Did he have an excessive fumble rate? No, he didn’t. We just judge it on how he played.”

Although Pickett does have the smallest hand size of any active NFL quarterback, his 67.3% completion rate in 2021 speaks for itself. Although he had 26 career fumbles at Pitt, he only had three in his final season.