Mitchell Trubisky will no longer start NFL games for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After the Steelers’ Week 4 defeat at the hands of the New York Jets, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin decided that it was time for a change in personnel and called rookie Kenny Pickett to report for quarterback duty.
Everyone, Not Just Trubisky, Should Absorb the Responsibility
The Steelers’ coach said that Pickett would start in Week 5 and that even though Trubisky’s poor performances were “a component of the decision,” he shouldn’t shoulder all the blame.
Tomlin defended his call and Trubisky’s reputation by saying that quarterbacks often get too much credit when things go well and receive too much flack when bad results start creeping in. So, people shouldn’t read too much into his decision.
The Steelers head coach said that the team could have moved the ball better and played more fluently in recent games and that the quarterback was always a component of that. He emphasized that the Steelers’ business was winning and that a change had to be made to reverse the bad run of results.
However, Tomlin was careful to once again stress that Trubisky wasn’t the only component and they all had to take their fair share of the blame, including himself.
Pickett Revitalized the Steelers Instantly
Trubisky hasn’t played as well as he would have liked to since the start of the NFL season. The fact that he was hauled off in the second half of that New York Jets defeat indicates that the coach decided to listen to what the fans were saying and finally make that quarterback change Steelers supporters were calling for since Week 2.
And it almost immediately revitalized the team. Pickett rushed for two touchdowns and put Pittsburgh in front in the fourth quarter. However, Tomlin’s team couldn’t hold on to that slim lead and eventually lost.
Tomlin did say, however, that Pickett was brought in to “provide a spark” and that he brought a lot of energy and ability to move the ball in the game. The coach praised the rookie quarterback, the only first-round quarterback pick in the NFL 2022 Draft, for his maturity, anticipation, and quick decision-making.
The Steelers’ coach was happy that the rookie proved Pittsburgh made the right decision when they picked him. Tomlin commended the young quarterback for continually getting better and for the progress he was making, saying that he was ready to start and they were all excited for him.
