Mitchell Trubisky isn't good enough: Pittsburgh Steelers will need Kenny Pickett to make the playoffs
The Pittsburgh Steelers have started the 2022 NFL season with a 1-2 record and there are already whispers about a change at the quarterback position. Mitchell Trubisky is not being seen as good enough.
Unfortunately for Trubisky, the reality is that he isn’t good enough to lead a Steelers team into the playoffs. That has become patently obvious in the opening three games of the campaign.
What makes the situation even more complex for the former Chicago Bears starter is the presence of Kenny Pickett, a first-round draft pick for the Steelers in 2022.
You don’t take a quarterback this high in the draft unless you plan to make them the face of your franchise, or at least try.
Kenny Pickett is somewhat of an unknown quantity given the widely accepted lack of real quality in this years’ quarterback class.
Time running out to decide between Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett
With that being said, Mike Tomlin has a big decision to make on Mitchell Trubisky, because he isn’t going back to the playoffs unless he promotes Pickett ASAP.
Mitchell Trubisky has had a number of chances in the NFL, and it doesn’t take a huge amount of evidence to make a call on the quarterback.
He is incredibly talented and has a nice throwing motion, but he just doesn’t have the game-management skills under pressure to be an elite QB.
He hasn’t produced when given the chance and the beginning of the 2022 season has been no different.
In the opening week's victory in overtime over the Cincinnati Bengals, Trubisky completed 21 of 38 passes and managed just one touchdown pass.
In Week 2, he threw for one touchdown and one interception, whilst his completion ratio was a poor 21 out of 33 attempted passes.
Thursday’s defeat to the Cleveland Browns was even worse for Trubisky as he failed to find the endzone even once and completed just 20 of 32 passes.
You can’t win games in the NFL with this level of quarterback play, it just isn’t effective enough.
Tomlin has thrown his weight behind Trubisky in support, coming out publicly after a dismal defeat to the Browns, but he can’t allow this run to continue for long.
Replacing Ben Roethlisberger was never going to be easy
What is so difficult to understand about this perilous situation in Pittsburgh is the fact that they knew they would have to replace Big Ben for years.
Whilst Roethlisberger went on into the 2021 season, his level of play had been declining for years. The Steelers should have drafted his replacement earlier, especially when you see the caliber of quarterbacks who have gone off the board in recent years.
Kenny Pickett is not a guarantee of success on the field, he might be another Mitchell Trubisky who will fail to succeed in the league.
However, you have to give him the chance to perform. Throwing rookie QBs into difficult situations can ruin them, but not everyone can be afforded the same luxury Patrick Mahomes had when he got to sit for a year behind an excellent Alex Smith.
The Steelers roster isn’t built to sit at home in January, they have playoff quality and should be aiming for that.
However, a lack of quality under center threatens to undermine that talented roster with an inability to score points costing the Steelers games.
Nobody could have expected a player to come and replace Roethlisberger right away, which would always be challenging. But Mitchell Trubisky was always an underwhelming choice after he struggled in Chicago.
When is the time to panic?
“I’m not in that mindset [to panic], I’m interested in reviewing this tape and looking at the totality of it and figuring out how we collectively get better, so the answer to that question is definitely no.”
Mike Tomlin explained in his post-game media conference on Thursday. You have to admire Tomlin’s loyalty and he knows far more about football than most, his record speaks for itself. But there comes a point where he will have to press the panic button.
How long does he leave the decision? The next game is against a resurgent New York Jets team, who have a promising offense this season and could welcome Zach Wilson back then.
Following that, there is the small matter of facing the undefeated Buffalo Bills, who are currently the best team in football. Then comes the undefeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This is an incredibly difficult run of games for any team, let alone one who is persisting with a struggling QB who is low on confidence like Trubisky is.
Trubisky hasn’t shown anything in the opening three games to suggest he can drag the Steelers to wins in those matches.
Can Tomlin still rescue the season if his team sits at 1-6 or 2-5 by October 24? It would be exceedingly difficult.
Mitchell Trubisky needs to be replaced, not only just to try and save the 2022 season, but also so Pittsburgh can see what they have in Kenny Pickett.
If he shows an incredibly high level of talent, then it will be beneficial for the future in Pittsburgh. If, however, there are doubts, at least the front-office will know and can make better plans to move on in 2023, perhaps bringing in a veteran.
Despite Tomlin’s record, he should know that you can’t stand still in football, and keeping Mitchell Trubisky under center is the definition of that. Kenny Pickett needs to be promoted and soon.