PITTSBURGH — When trying to analyze every move Mike Tomlin makes with his three quarterbacks, including how he utilizes them in the final preseason game on Sunday, always keep this in mind:
Most of what the Steelers have done, and most of what they will continue to do, revolves around getting Kenny Pickett ready to be an NFL starter.
It might not happen anytime soon. It might not happen until next season (though not likely). But make no mistake, it will happen. NFL teams don't use No. 1 picks on a quarterback and have them sit very long, unless Aaron Rodgers is ahead of him.
How close is Pickett? Well, closer than even the Steelers imagined at this point. That was evident when Tomlin used him for only eight plays in Jacksonville, seemingly satisfied with what he saw of his prized rookie after Pickett led a final-minute touchdown drive for the second game in a row. I mean, don't rookies need more than eight plays in their development?
Meantime, Mitch Trubisky will open the regular season as the starter, barring the most unexpected turn of events. That has been the plan since they agreed to a contract on the first day of free agency. It gives the Steelers the athletic, mobile quarterback they were seeking to replace Ben Roethlisberger, but it also provides them a time buffer that keeps Pickett from being thrown immediately to the NFL wolves.
Now all that needs to be resolved is what will happen with Mason Rudolph, who has become the tragic figure in this drama? Depending on your perspective, he is either embattled or to be embraced.
Consider it logically:
The Steelers learned a painful lesson in 2019 what can happen when you trade one of your three quarterbacks. After they shipped Josh Dobbs to Jacksonville for a fifth-round pick right before the start of the regular season, they were left with an unproven Rudolph, who never dressed for a game as a rookie in 2018, and tryout quarterback Duck Hodges when Roethlisberger sustained a season-ending injury in Week 2. It is highly unlikely they will make that mistake again.
Also, if the Steelers intended to move on from Rudolph, why would they never let rookie Chris Oladokun take a snap in team drills at training camp or play in a preseason game? If they had any intention of possibly keeping him as the No. 3 quarterback, Oladokun would have played at some point. It is apparent they never did, which is why using one of their seven draft choices on a second quarterback was not roundly received by some who matter in the organization.
On top of it all, keeping all three quarterbacks is not a financial hardship for the team. It is an inexpensive quarterback room with Trubisky ($3.6 million), Rudolph ($2.19 million) and Pickett ($2.56 million), especially considering the big salary-cap hits many NFL teams take with high-priced quarterbacks. All three AFC North teams have one quarterback who counts more against the cap in 2022 than the three Steelers quarterbacks combined.
And here's one more curious subplot moving forward: Once the regular seasons begins, who gets the second-team reps in practice?
As the quarterback of the future, Pickett's development is probably not going to be put on hold in the regular season. He is going to continue to get work with the first- and second-team offense as the Steelers continue to prepare him for the inevitable, whenever that is.
But if there is an in-game injury to Trubisky, especially early in the season, which quarterback is more ready to step in and replace him in that game? The obvious answer, for now, is Rudolph, who quite frankly has been the most consistent quarterback since the start of training camp — not to mention the only backup quarterback with NFL experience.
It would take a ridiculous offer from a quarterback-desperate team for the Steelers to make the same mistake they made in 2019. They are not likely to do it again. Is all this unfair to Rudolph, who has done nothing wrong to earn a demotion? Of course it is.
Just remember: Everything that has been done revolves around getting their No. 1 pick ready to be an NFL starter.
Linebacker love
The Steelers will take a long look at another outside linebacker in an attempt to find some quality depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
The latest who will play extensively and could even start against the Detroit Lions is Hamilcar Rashed, who was claimed off waivers two weeks ago after being released by the New York Jets. The Steelers liked what they saw from the 24 snaps he played in Jacksonville and are planning to give Rashed at least as much playing time Sunday before they have to trim their roster to the 53-man player limit by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Regardless how Rashed performs, expect the Steelers to look among the final cuts from other NFL teams to improve the depth at the most important position on their defense. Otherwise, they will begin the season with Derrek Tuszka, who doesn't have a sack or quarterback hurry in two games, as the top backup.
It didn't work out for veteran Genard Avery, who, in something of a surprise, was among five players released on Tuesday. But Avery, who had 7.5 sacks in 53 NFL games, was not considered a good fit for the defense.
They are hoping Rashed (6-foot-2, 251 pounds) might be better. At Oregon State, he had the same outside linebacker coach, Cort Dennison, that T.J. Watt had at Wisconsin. Maybe, in a great leap of faith, some of that karma will rub off on Rashed.
"He's got a good juice to him," Watt said. "He plays the run well. He shares the same outside linebacker coach I had in college, so we have that similarity. Just to be able to translate some things we called in college and what we call here has been nice. But I think he has a good juice about him. He's got a good pass-rush package, as well."
