He knows it’s not going to happen, but if it was up to former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke Mason Rudolph would start over Mitch Trubisky, if Kenny Pickett couldn’t play on Sunday.
It looks like Pickett will start against the Ravens, but Hoke tells Cook & Joe that he thinks it would be best if Pickett sat.
“I think that if he can go, he’ll go, what I think, my personal opinion is it would be good for him to sit back and watch this game and let that knee heal,” said Hoke. “Let the knee heal but also heal a little bit mentally and emotionally.”
Hoke says he’d go with Rudolph because his stats are comparable to Pickett, so far.
Rudolph is 9-4-1, Pickett is 9-7
Other stats Rudolph vs. Pickett
Passing TDs 16 11
Passing yards 2,366 3,207
Interceptions 11 13
“I just think, in my mind, you give Mason, Mason can throw a great deep ball, Mason has great control of that offense,” said Hoke. “People say, well he can’t scramble like Kenny, well show me how many times Kenny’s scrambled in the last month maybe a handful of times, he can do what Kenny’s done.”
Hoke adds a lot of people believe he was the best quarterback coming out of Training Camp in 2022.
“I think given the chance and given the opportunity, he would thrive,” said Hoke.
Listen to the whole interview above.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin didn’t hesitate during his weekly news conference on Tuesday when he said it will be Trubisky that gets the start, if Pickett can’t go.