PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Mike Tomlin first words when asked if Kenny Pickett will be the starting quarterback is 'he will' and the next word was 'but'. What Tomlin said about Pickett at his season-ending news conference.
Tomlin called it a 'huge' season for the first-round pick going into his third year. Pickett's first two seasons produced identical records while the Steelers starter, seven wins and five losses. There was improvement in taking care of the football, only four interceptions in 12 games in 2023. If you run that back, he has only five interceptions in his last 20 games.
There is also the lack of TDs. In 24 career games he's thrown only 13 touchdown passes. It's widely believed Bryce Young had a bad season as a rookie for Carolina this year, but he threw 11 touchdowns in 16 games.
"There will be competition," Tomlin said Thursday. "There's always competition in this thing. We don't anoint anyone."
"Man, I'm appreciative of his efforts and where he is and excited to continue to work with him, but certainly he will be challenged from a competition perspective moving forward. Competition brings the best out in all of us."
That competition could come from Mason Rudolph. Tomlin noted how he was impressed with Rudolph's work (3-1 down the stretch) and that they want to bring him back in 2024. The 28-year-old went through free agency last year without finding a better offer, he returned for a sixth season.
Tomlin met with Pickett before his final news conference on Thursday and said they discussed the coming season. He said he was impressed with how Pickett handled being benched the last couple of games in favor of Rudolph. Tomlin called Pickett professional in how he supported the former third-stringer as he was the starter in the most important games down the stretch.
"I'm extremely confident in him," Tomlin said of Pickett. "I feel stronger about some of the intangible things than I did obviously when we first starting doing business with him because I have evidence of it. He's highly competitive and professional."
"He doesn't run from challenges. He runs to challenges. I think that is evident particularly at the end of close football games. He's got good framework to work with. For a young guy, he's mature beyond his years. I'm excited about him."
Tomlin said they look at quarterbacks every year in the draft and wouldn't speculate if they would retain Mitch Trubisky or look at adding either from the draft or free agency.
There are a few veterans likely available, most notably Denver's Russell Wilson and Minnesota's Kirk Cousins, with the potential of the Bears Justin Fields being attainable in a trade.
The Steelers head coach believes he has the right guy and will give him an offensive coordinator from outside of the organization. However, this is likely make-or-break in 2024 for the Pitt Heisman finalist.
"Certainly, it's a big year for him," Tomlin said. "It is a huge year for him, but I'm also excited watching him wear that component of it because I know how he's wired and built. I'm excited watching him attack it."
