The Pittsburgh Steelers face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank stadium 7pm on Saturday night. Mike Tomlin has named his quarterback rotation for the game and Kenny Pickett is going to get an opportunity for ‘varsity reps.’ He will be the second quarterback into the game and will likely get a chance to play with the first team offense, while the Jaguars first round draft picks, Travon Walker and Josh Allen are still in the game. Pickett’s comfort and performance against a significantly better pass rush will go a long way in determining the next step in the rookie’s progression. (editors note - written prior to Saturday nights win at Jacksonville)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) during a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug.13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Jared Wickerham/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Pete Prisco, the veteran CBS NFL writer, visited Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA, and joined 1010 XL on Friday afternoon's The Frank Frangie Show to discuss the Steelers quarterback situation. Prisco, who used to host a radio show in Jacksonville and wrote for the Florida Times-Union before moving onto CBS Sports, has always valued and been able to identify top quarterback play. He was asked if he was surprised the Steelers were sticking with Mitch Trubisky as the starter.
“No, I thought he would be the quarterback in the early part of the season,” Prisco said. “I thought all along Pickett would take over. Pickett looked good last week. When you watch the game, he did some good things. He didn’t drive the ball down the field, but he was accurate, he was smart, he knew where to go with the football.”
Pickett entered the game against the Seattle Seahawks to a raucous reaction. The reaction in Jacksonville will not be quite as warm when he enters the game on Saturday night. TIAA Bank Stadium is traditionally only half full of Steelers fans when they visit Jacksonville, so the chants of “Kenny, Kenny” will probably not be thunderous. Audible of course, but not thunderous. Prisco continued:
“He had that little look about him. There are certain guys who play that quarterback position that have that ‘it.’ Joe Burrow had it when he came out. I think Kenny Pickett has it too. So it will be interesting to see what he can do with the varsity. This is going to be a big moment for Kenny Pickett.”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) during a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug.13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Jared Wickerham/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Pickett had great success in the second half of last week’s 32-25 preseason game and moved the team to a 25-17 lead on the first drive of his professional career. He faced some adversity, but avoided turnovers and after being stopped on fourth down against the Seahawks, made good on a second chance afforded by a huge splash play by Mark Robinson. Pickett drove the Steelers down the field and found Tyler Vaughns for the winning touchdown with :03 seconds left to play.
Frangie, who is a Pittsburgh native, and a longtime fixture on Jacksonville sports radio, asked Prisco about some of the familiar questions surrounding Pickett:
"Won’t the question be throwing arm Pete?" Frangie asked. "He’s got the little hands and the gloves and he’s checking down. Won’t the question be, and I’m not saying he can’t, can he drive the ball down the field? Isn’t that what we are going to have to figure out about him?"
Prisco often earned the ire of Jacksonville Jaguars fans during his early career in the River City on sports radio for praising Peyton Manning incessantly. His steadfast habit of comparing every post Mark Brunell Jaguars quarterback unfavorably to the division rival Indianapolis Colts signal-caller was the source of many interesting phone calls on his radio show. The CBS writer is rarely off base in regard to quarterback play in the NFL and he fired back at Frangie:
“People had those doubts about Burrow when he came out. I think he can, he can drive the ball down the field. You watched the Pitt games last year; he drove the ball plenty well. Particularly to Jordan Addison who did so well, he went to USC and got a boatload of money on an NIL deal.”
Ben Roethlisberger (right) replaced Tommy Maddox as the Steelers starting quarterback after Maddox suffered an elbow injury two games into the 2004 season. (George Bridges / Getty Images)
The Steelers have not played a preseason game this important in almost two decades. Ben Roethlisberger worked his way up the depth chart after Charlie Batch was injured late in the preseason in 2004 and Tommy Maddox was hurt against the Baltimore Ravens in the second game of that regular season. The rest was Steelers history.
The best possible case scenario is a repeat of last week’s quarterback play with Trubisky and Pickett demonstrating solid command of their units. Tomlin has named Trubisky the starter, but if Pickett demonstrates an equal level of aplomb in his reps with the first unit against a solid Jaguars defense, could he make another leap on the depth chart?
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is Pickett a solid drive with the first team away from starting against the Cincinnati Bengals? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
