Sudden Change For Pittsburgh Steelers Q1 And Q2 At Week18 Due To…
The Pittsburgh Steelers are rolling with Mason Rudolph as their starter in Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens, but the decision doesn’t seem to be impacting the team’s view of the quarterback position overall.
In their latest depth chart release, Kenny Pickett remains the team’s QB1, even heading into a game where he’ll be the backup on the field.
Rudolph is listed as the QB2, with Mitch Trubisky rounding out the list as the third-string.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he did take into consideration the future of the team’s quarterback room and their views on Pickett moving forward when making the decision to start Rudolph.
However, he also stated that Pickett is a capable QB who the Steelers have plenty of faith in.
“We’re going to leave the ball in Mason Rudolph’s hands. He’s done a good job and we’ve done a good job in the most recent two weeks.
We’ve taken care of the ball; he’s taken care of the ball. We’ve scored points at a rate which we hadn’t done to this point this year.
And with the urgency of the moment, and because of those reasons, we’re going to leave the ball in his hands,” Tomlin said. “But I say all those things with the understanding that I know Kenny (Pickett) is very capable, and particularly as it pertains to this matchup, Kenny (Pickett) has led us to victory late in the game the last two times we played Baltimore. And so, we feel like we got two capable guys.”
It appears Pickett is still viewed as the top option of the future for the Steelers, and even with the Week 18 demotion, it may not be permanent that he’s the backup in Pittsburgh.
Right now, Rudolph starting is a week-to-week decision and will be treated as one even if the Steelers make the playoffs.