Kenny Pickett is still listed as the starter on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart. In Week 18, the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing the Baltimore Ravens with Mason Rudolph starting, but the team’s perception of the quarterback position as a whole doesn’t appear to be affected by the choice.
Even going into a game where he will be the field backup quarterback, Kenny Pickett is still the team’s starting quarterback according to their most recent depth chart. Mitch Trubisky rounds out the roster as the third-string quarterback, with Rudolph labeled as the QB2.
Mike Tomlin’s thoughts on Kenny Pickett
When deciding whether to start Rudolph, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin admitted that he did consider the team’s future in the quarterback room and their future plans for Pickett.
But he added that the Steelers have a lot of faith in Pickett, a competent quarterback.
“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.”
Even after being demoted in Week 18, it seems that Pickett is still considered the Steelers’ best option going forward, thus his status as the backup in Pittsburgh might not last forever.
Rudolph’s starting status is now determined by the week and will remain so even if the Steelers advance to the postseason.
