PITTSBURGH — I'm going to do something I normally don't do.
I'm going to feel sorry for a couple of millionaires: Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.
"Seinfeld" says old people go to Florida to die. Well, Trubisky and Rudolph came to Pittsburgh to die as NFL quarterbacks.
I've felt bad for Rudolph for a long time. His career started here with Ben Roethlisberger criticizing his third-round selection by the Steelers in the 2018 draft. It didn't matter that Roethlisberger wasn't ripping him personally, but rather the team wasting a high pick on a quarterback. Rudolph never recovered.
You know the horrible sequence of events that followed.
— Rudolph was knocked out by a helmet-to-helmet hit by Ravens safety Earl Thomas in a home game in 2019. The sight of him staggering off the field — wearing just the shell of his helmet after his facemask was removed — was horrifying. Asked why there wasn't a cart to take Rudolph off the field, Mike Tomlin replied, "Ask somebody that is in charge of that. I don't drive carts and things of that nature."
— Later in the 2019 season, Rudolph was clubbed over his head with his own helmet by the Browns' Myles Garrett. He later was accused of using a racial slur by Garrett, a horrible charge that was denied by Rudolph and Tomlin.
— The next week in Cincinnati, Rudolph was benched in the third quarter for Duck Hodges, who led the Steelers to a 16-10 win.
That's Duck Hodges!
— Later that same season, Rudolph came off the bench in a road game against the Jets and appeared ready to lead the Steelers to a season-sustaining win when he had a serious shoulder dislocation that could have been life-threatening. "They were worried it would puncture my aorta," Rudolph said.
— Rudolph got a start against the winless Lions last season when Roethlisberger was out with COVID. He is best-remembered for bouncing a pass to a wide-open Ray-Ray McCloud in the end zone of what became a 16-16 tie. It was his final start with the Steelers.
— Rudolph had to know he was going to be third-string this season after the Steelers signed Trubisky as a free agent in March and made Pickett their No. 1 draft choice in April. Many observers will tell you Rudolph outplayed the other two in training camp and the exhibition season, but it didn't matter. "I thought I did the best I could with it," said Rudolph, who is believed to have asked for a trade. The Steelers haven't obliged.
Rudolph's story is so sad that somebody should write a country song about it.
Trubisky's story looks as if it will have a similar tearful ending.
Trubisky must have regretted signing his two-year, $14.285 million deal with the Steelers the minute the team drafted Pickett. You knew his time as the starting quarterback was going to be brief with Pickett waiting off stage. Fans began calling for Pickett in the third quarter of the first regular-season home game against the Patriots.
"It is what it is," Trubisky said when asked about the "Ken-ny! Ken-ny!" chants.
Tomlin, after pledging last week to stay the course with Trubisky, to show "steely resolve" and tune out the "noise," finally made the switch to Pickett at halftime of the home game Sunday against the Jets. It's not as if Trubisky was playing poorly. He had made strides in a loss at Cleveland on Sept. 22 and was taking more against the Jets. He had a 14-yard pass to George Pickens to the Jets 35 called back by an ineligible-downfield penalty against James Daniels. He had a pass intercepted by safety Lamarcus Joyner after it went through Diontae Johnson's hands. He just missed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Johnson when Johnson failed by an inch to get his left foot down in the end zone. He got little help from his offensive line and was sacked three times.
But Tomlin had no choice but to turn to Pickett. Trubisky's offense had failed to score a first-half touchdown again and the Steelers trailed, 10-6, at halftime. The team looked lifeless. There was no energy in Acrisure Stadium. Zero.
"We just thought we needed a spark," Tomlin said.
Pickett provided it, leading two touchdown drives, which should have been enough. The Steelers lost, 24-20, because of Pickett's poor pitch to Jaylen Warren, his worse interception on a pass intended for Pat Freiermuth and their defense's inability to stop the Jets in the fourth quarter.
Trubisky took the benching hard and clearly was angered by it.
"It's a tough deal. It's definitely not what I wanted, not what I expected," he said.
But Trubisky didn't help his cause by constantly playing cautious. He didn't take many chances down the field or in the middle of the field, at least not in the first two games. He seldom used his athleticism to run with the ball the way Pickett, who scored two touchdowns and picked up a critical first down, did against the Jets.
In fairness, Tomlin and Matt Canada didn't do much to help Trubisky. It's as if they beat into his head not to make a mistake. According to Trubisky, they didn't allow him to freely call audibles. He was doomed for failure.
So what happens now?
Tomlin will give Pickett the start Sunday in Buffalo. He has to stay with Pickett even though there certainly will be growing pains with him. Pickett is the team's future.
As for Trubisky? I won't be the least bit surprised if he already has asked for a trade.
Wouldn't you?
Would you rather die as a quarterback in Pittsburgh?
