PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – When asked if he knew what the Steelers quarterback rotation would be, Kenny Pickett said the same thing as Mitch Trubisky on Tuesday. He doesn't know.
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said he might know, but isn't going to tell anyone as to not 'feed the beast' referring to regular and social media. At least outwardly, it didn't seem to affect Pickett's mood when asked about it.
"A day at a time," Pickett said of how he's dealing with the unknown. "I'm just focusing on getting better, still learning a lot of things. Getting my first game plan going into Cincinnati here. A lot of things I'm learning, taking it all in stride and enjoying it."
It's widely assumed Trubisky will be the starter, the other question could be if they decide to go with the experience of Rudolph as the back-up. A depth chart is expected by Tuesday and likely a designation of the starter and back-up quarterbacks. Although there could always be the indecisive 'or' at second-string QB.
Pickett feels that he took the good from recent practices and was able to show that in game reps. He said you can't duplicate the experience of being in-game with your teammates.
"How different guys play," Pickett said of what he learned about the other offensive players. "You have to get in a rhythm and it's a trust thing. Here at the end of camp going into the season. I think we all trust each other 100%. We know we are going to do each other's jobs and we'll get the job done."
Now it's about taking all of that and getting ready for the regular season. Whether that role is as a starter, a back-up or a scout-team third-stringer who doesn't dress for games.
"Preseason games are kinda more focused on yourself than the opponent," Pickett said. "Now we are starting to get into Cincinnati, game planning and scheming and seeing what we want to do versus them. It's definitely an adjustment."
The preseason stats, 29 of 36 for 261 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and a team-best 124.6 QB rating, have Pickett in a good place.
"All the positives that I built on from mini-camp and OTAs into camp and the preseason games," Pickett said. "I thought I just continued to get better and I just want to build on that going into the season now."
Backyard Brawl
He gave his prediction of a 31-10 Panthers win after the game Sunday, Pickett said he has a lot of family, friends and former and current teammates joining him at Acrisure Stadium for the West Virginia game Thursday night. He hasn't reached out to the current Pitt quarterbacks, Kedon Slovis and Nick Patti, but says he plans to before the game.
"I'm excited to go out there and watch them," Pickett said.
