PITTSBURGH — You can't have an "open" quarterback competition with three training camp competitors. Not one with any integrity, anyway.
Bill Cowher spoke on the topic earlier this week in a SiriusXM interview with former Steelers quarterback Jim Miller. When asked about the alleged three-man competition among Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph and Kenny Pickett, Cowher referenced the 1996 preseason.
Neil O'Donnell had moved on, leaving Miller, Mike Tomczak and second-year pro Kordell Stewart as the viable quarterback candidates. Cowher tried to give all three equal time, right up through the American Bowl in Japan in late July.
He soon realized the folly of such a plan.
"I just remember at that time, I said, 'OK, we'll try to split it up,'" Cowher recalled. "But you remember very early on in the process, I asked Kordell to go to receiver because it was just too hard to get three quarterbacks enough reps to make a true evaluation. That's going to be the toughest thing for (the Steelers) to do."
In fact, it would be a disservice to the team to even try — not that Mike Tomlin tried in minicamp, where there was anything but an open competition. The best move now would be to quit the Mason Rudolph charade and make it a fair fight between Trubisky and Pickett, but I'm beginning to wonder about Tomlin's intentions.
First off, it would appear that Trubisky will go unchallenged. He was the clear-cut, first-team guy in minicamp. With training camp more than a month away, it's already his job to lose, and I don't see where Pickett has a viable route to the starter's job. Time will be too short. We're talking less than a month, and there are only three exhibition games. Trubisky would have to flop badly.
Give Trubisky credit. There's an old notion that if you want a job badly enough, just start doing it. Act like you already have it. Trubisky did that the instant he got here. He behaved like the starter and has been treated as such.
I suppose I could be surprised when camp begins, but when I look back on Tomlin talking about a "fierce" competition among his three quarterbacks, I wonder if he ever had designs on such a thing.
Tomlin admitted, upon drafting Pickett, that finding adequate reps for each would be an issue.
"The challenge is from a structure standpoint," Tomlin told Rich Eisen. "Are we providing enough of a platform for all the guys to show what they're capable of?"
Merely attempting to do that would hurt Trubisky's chance to get fully acclimated and Pickett's chance to get fully immersed in a job that figures to be his someday.
Which brings us to Rudolph. What's going on here?
The Steelers have told us, through their actions, what they think of Rudolph. He was drafted to be Ben Roethlisberger's successor, but that was a long time ago. He's now in Year 4. Tomlin chose Duck Hodges over him, and upon Roethlisberger's retirement, the Steelers brought in not one, not two, but three new quarterbacks, including a first-round pick.
And yet, there was Rudolph getting the second-team reps in minicamp. That cannot possibly happen at the start of training camp, can it?
It almost makes me wonder if Pickett will be redshirted his first season, relegated to third-team duty even though part of the appeal of drafting him seemed to be that he was a soon-to-be-24-year-old college vet who could play right away.
But then I remember this is Rudolph we're talking about. The Steelers surely will part ways with him before the season (won't they?).
Meanwhile, here's a question for you, one that hasn't been asked much: What if Trubisky realizes his full potential here?
People act like the Bears made some ridiculous reach to draft him second overall. Like he wasn't a stud prospect. Like every mock draft didn't have him going to Cleveland at No. 12 at the latest (Mel Kiper had him going to the Browns as the first overall selection before news broke just before the draft that they would take Myles Garrett).
Trubisky's biggest problem in Chicago was the Bears, but he also went before Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, who became stars. Remember, he only played one full season of college football. What if he walks in here and becomes a high-impact player?
What would that mean for Pickett?
I'm just asking.
