Madden Monday on Kenny Pickett: ‘I’m told he may not be ready to play exhibitions yet’
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The Pittsburgh Steelers play their first preseason game in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era on Saturday. So far in training camp, the three quarterbacks competing to replace him have done little to inspire much confidence about what the offense will look like in his absence.
Not like it looked all that great in the final year and a half of Roethlisberger’s career either.
Roethlisberger’s backup, Mason Rudolph, has been the most impressive (or least disappointing, if you prefer a more cynical review) at Saint Vincent College. Free agent signee Mitch Trubisky and first-round draft choice Kenny Pickett have struggled.
It’s fair to say both of those signal callers started to find a little more rhythm toward the end of last week’s practices. Yet Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X thinks that Pickett’s learning curve is so steep that he may not even play Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks at Acrisure Stadium.
“Pickett just isn’t close to being ready. In fact, I’m told he may not be ready to play exhibitions yet. That’s how shaky they feel he has looked in camp,” Madden said.
More Steelers news:
• ‘2 dogs, 1 bone’ at left guard for incumbent Steelers starters Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green
• Robert Spillane looking to get ‘greedy,’ earn starting job at inside linebacker with Steelers
• Mitch Trubisky taking designation as No. 1 quarterback on Steelers’ depth chart in stride
• Mark Madden’s Hot Take: For Steelers players, ‘hold-ins’ work every time
Furthermore, Madden said that if Pickett is potentially on his way to a redshirt season with the Steelers as a rookie, it might behoove the team to extend the preseason playing time they’d normally give to a starting quarterback.
If not this week, then over the next two games. Especially once the likes of Pat Freiermuth, Diontae Johnson, Najee Harris and Chase Claypool work their way back toward participation. Those are four vital skill position players, and they’ve all missed big chunks of training camp. In Johnson’s case, that was due to his contractual situation. For the other three, they have had nagging injuries.
So, if we are assessing Trubisky’s practice performance, it’d be unfair to do so without acknowledging the absences of those key targets while working against the Steelers first-team defense.
“Trubisky needs reps,” Madden said. “If you made me predict right now what the division of duty will be in the exhibition game Saturday, I’d say Trubisky and Rudolph each play half, and Pickett maybe gets a series.”
For whatever reason you decide to magnify, it has been a struggle for Trubisky in Latrobe.
Another 0-for for Mitch Trubisky in Seven Shots Might be on a 14-play personal scoreless streak
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 2, 2022
Yet the former Chicago Bear and Buffalo Bill is atop the Steelers depth chart, with Rudolph second and Pickett third.
Madden isn’t so sure that’s the right way to go.
“What would be wrong with Rudolph maybe starting the first game, maybe starting the first couple, while Trubisky catches up on the learning curve?” Madden asked.
“In a season where every win figures to count, why wouldn’t you do that? Why wouldn’t you stagger the way things are normally approached to try to eke out an extra win somewhere?”
To that point, BetRivers.com has the Steelers “over/under” win total at 7.5 games. I’m picking them to be in the eight- or nine-win range and miss the playoffs as the last team out of the AFC bracket. So I’ll take the “over.” But I’m not going to feel confident about it.
It seems like Madden is in the same boat.
“This year, I would say they are an eight-win team,” Madden said. “But I’d bet on them to win six before I’d bet on them to win 10.”
Also in the podcast, Madden and I discuss Johnson’s new contract, the Deshaun Watson saga in Cleveland and the inaugural class for the new Pirates Hall of Fame.