The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently in their third week of training camp and heading into the first preseason game of the season. The quarterback position still remains in limbo and no one knows for sure who will be the signal-caller consistently throughout the season and many other topics are discussed daily. Steelers Senior Writer for The Athletic, Mark Kaboly joined The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday to talk about all things Steelers and specifically talked about how Head Coach Mike Tomlin is handling camp without Ben Roethlisberger and the current quarterback situation.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
McAfee's co-host, former Green Bay Packers linebacker, AJ Hawk, was curious about what the vibe during camp has been like without the future Hall of Fame quarterback, Roethlisberger around. Kaboly has covered the Steelers for 20 years and has been in the locker room for the entire Roethlisberger era. Hawk specifically asked about how Tomlin is approaching his time in Latrobe without #7.
"I think Tomlin's actually enjoying it. This is his first time. He's been around 15 years now and he's never had a situation where he's had to pick a #1 quarterback. It's always been Ben," said Kaboly.
According to Kaboly, Tomlin is having a blast dealing with the new personnel.
"I think maybe he's enjoying this too much. The competition and putting a lot of thought into, as he would say 'thoughtfully non-rythmic' way of going about his quarterback position. I think he's really enjoying it and without Ben, I thought it would be a lot different, but it doesn't seem like it is very much. Ben didn't participate a ton in training camp over the last five or six years."
While his answer about the starting quarterback won't come as surprising, he was very direct when asked about QB1.
"You could pretty much rubber stamp Mitch Trubisky starting the season barring injury. It's just going to happen," said Kaboly. "That's the way we saw the first two weeks here. He gets all the '1' snaps."
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Mitch Trubisky (#10) participates during training camp at the team's South Side facility. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Kaboly was transparent in his belief about who will be suiting up to start the Steelers first preseason game on Saturday vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Trubisky is going to be the guy according to the insider.
"He will likely start Saturday's preseason game. It looks like Mason Rudolph will come in second followed by Kenny Pickett."
While Kaboly believes Trubisky will be the starter, at least in the beginning of the season, he isn't sold yet on the backup position as Rudolph and Pickett are currently still battling it out.
"I think that second spot's still up in the air. It all depends on what they're looking for," said Kaboly. "Mason has just been fabulous out here. I know people don't want to believe that, but it's very true. He's been very solid the entire camp. The question is: do you want him at #2?"
Kaboly also commented on who could turn into these quarterbacks' best friend: rookie wide receiver George Pickens. He had nothing bad to say about the potential Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
"I like to be a little reserved about these guys, but this guy has been one of the best receivers I've seen as a rookie this quickly that I've ever even noticed. If he's going to be bad this year, it would be a shock to me."
The veteran reporter has been around the Steelers for a while. Are you on board with everything he said on The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday afternoon? Let us know in the comments below!
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