When the Steelers selected Kenny Pickett with the 20th pick in the NFL Draft last month, Mike Tomlin said the rookie will be given a shot at winning the starting job.
"He'll be given an opportunity to compete certainly," Tomlin said.
But there are competitions and then there are competitions.
The Steelers don't have an incumbent starting quarterback following Ben Roethlisberger's retirement following the 2021 season.
For the first time since 2000, when Kordell Stewart and Kent Graham battled throughout the offseason and into the preseason for the starting job, the Steelers have a QB competition on their hands.
Graham eventually was given the nod by then-head coach Bill Cowher, who had grown weary of Stewart's up-and-down performances. But he also lasted just three starts in that role before Cowher turned back to Stewart.
But the only holdover in this situation is long-time backup Mason Rudolph. The Steelers also added veteran Mitch Trubisky early in the free agency process, agreeing to terms with the former Bears starter just minutes into the NFL's legal tampering period in March.
So, the reality is that the Steelers will decide between Pickett and Trubisky for the starting job.
A three-man quarterback competition really doesn't work. There are only so many snaps to go around -- particularly when two of the players locked in competition are learning the offense.
That's especially true when one is a player in which the team invested a first-round pick.
But that doesn't mean Pickett is the favorite to win the starting job. While the 24-year-old had 52 career starts at Pitt, Trubisky has 50 career NFL starts under his belt.
And despite the Bears giving up on the former second-overall pick in the 2017 draft, his four years in Chicago were not without success.
Trubisky had just 11 career starts at North Carolina prior to joining the Bears. It's a big reason why while many had him a the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the 2017 draft class based on his overall athleticism, I had Deshaun Watson No. 1 based on his experience at Clemson and his overall resume. Patrick Mahomes also was in that class.
That was a big factor working against Trubisky in Chicago. While he went second overall in that draft -- the Bears actually traded up from the third pick to second to select him -- Mahomes went 10th to the Chiefs, while Watson was selected 12th by the Texans.
And when both Mahomes and Watson became stars, Trubisky went through some struggles, particularly as a rookie.
Thrown into the fire, Trubisky completed just 59.4 percent of his passes as a rookie in 12 starts. He had seven touchdowns and seven interceptions and averaged just 182.8 yards per game and 6.6 yards per pass attempt.
The Bears went 4-8 in his 12 starts and Chicago cleaned house after the season, firing head coach John Fox and bringing in Matt Nagy.
Trubisky benefitted from the change to the offensive-minded Nagy, completing 66.6 percent of his passes and throwing for 24 touchdowns with 12 interceptions while seeing his yards per pass attempt jump to 7.3 and his average yards per game increase to 230. The Bears went 11-3 in his 14 starts, earning a playoff spot with Trubisky being voted to the Pro Bowl.
But the Bears were beaten in the postseason, 16-15, by the Eagles, despite Trubisky throwing for 303 yards and a touchdown. Cody Parkey missed a 43-yard field goal attempt with 5 seconds remaining that would have lifted the Bears to a victory and might have changed Trubisky's fortunes in Chicago.
In 2019, Trubisky suffered a left shoulder injury in a Week 4 win over the Vikings on a sack by Danielle Hunter and missed the team's Week 5 loss to the Raiders. He returned after the team's by the following week, but the shoulder injury bothered him the remainder of the season -- much like what happened with Baker Mayfield in Cleveland last season.
The Bears went 8-7 in Trubisky's 15 starts in 2019, with his completion percentage falling to 63.2, his touchdown-to-interception ratio dropping to 17-10 and his yards per game settling in at 209.2.
Perhaps more telling were his rushing stats. Trubisky rushed for 421 yards in his Pro Bowl season in 2018. He had just 193 yards in 2019 despite playing in one more game.
Mobility is a big part of Trubisky's game. Watch these highlights and you'll see that.
Pittsburgh got their QB.@Mtrubisky10 | @steelers pic.twitter.com/qIMQ00PtTN
— NFL (@NFL) March 15, 2022
Chicago chose not to pick up Trubisky's fifth-year option, which would have cost $23.8 million. Remember, Nagy wasn't there when the Bears drafted Trubisky. He wanted a quarterback of his own.
That led to the Bears trading for Nick Foles in 2020, though Trubisky won the starting job after a preseason competition. Despite leading Chicago to a 2-0 start with wins over the Lions and Giants, Trubisky was benched during a Week 3 win over the Falcons after a third-quarter interception.
Foles rallied the Bears to a win and started the next seven games. But the Bears went 2-5 in those starts and Nagy eventually went back to Trubisky, who played extremely well down the stretch. In Chicago's final six games, Trubisky completed 70 percent of his passes for 1,495 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 105 yards.
The Bears went 3-3 in those final six starts, finishing 8-8 and sneaking into the playoffs.
But they were again ousted in the first round, losing to the Saints, 21-9. Trubisky was 19 of 29 for 199 yards and a touchdown in the game.
That led Trubisky to free agency, where he settled for a 1-year, $2.5-million contract with the Bills to serve as the backup to Josh Allen.
"I think I'm just taking all of my experience starting in Chicago, and then taking everything I learned in Buffalo, I feel like I'm more of a veteran now," Trubisky said earlier this offseason. "I've been through three or four offenses now (in the NFL). I know what I like and what works. I know what great communication and great culture looks like between players and coaches. I've been a part of a lot of winning teams and I've won a lot of games as a starter."
All told, Trubisky is 29-21 as a starter. But that improves to 25-13 when his rookie season is taken out of the equation.
He has completed 64.1 percent of his career passes for 10,652 yards, 64 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.
Pickett might indeed be the future of the Steelers. He might even wind up starting some games for the Steelers in 2022.
But, as Matt Williamson noted in his excellent piece about Pickett earlier this week, while the former Pitt star might have been the most "NFL-ready" quarterback in this year's draft, there's really no such thing as NFL ready.
Even quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall struggle in their transition into the NFL. It's only natural.
The Steelers would be better served for the long term if Pickett spends some time watching and learning. The presence of Trubisky allows them the opportunity to do just that.
If Pickett blows Trubisky's doors off in training camp and the preseason, that's a different story. But history tells us that won't be the case.
That's why Trubisky is the favorite to be under center when the Steelers open the regular season Sept. 11 in Cincinnati.
