It was reported last month by ESPN's according to ESPN senior reporter, Jeremy Fowler: that the Pittsburgh Steelers had told Mitchell Trubisky that they were still interested in drafting a quarterback. That they prepared him and let him know that the addition of Kenny Pickett could be a real possibility.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Chris Oladokun, Mason Rudolph, and Mitch Trubisky participate in phase two of the voluntary off-season workout program, Thursday, May 19, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. | Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
"But I was told that he even knew that Kenny Pickett was a strong possibility going into this," Fowler said on ESPN. "If he was there at number 20, they might take him. He was prepared for this."
But today following the Steelers first OTA practice Trubisky says that wasn't the case, and that the team didn't let him know that they were still considering a quarterback in the draft.
“I knew coming in to the situation, wherever I was going to go, I would have to come in, compete, earn the trust of my teammates and get back on the field with hard work and my talent and being a leader on this team,” Trubisky said. “We didn’t have those (draft) conversations, but I knew it was a possibility wherever I went.”
But Trubisky said that he wasn't surprised that the Steelers decided to take a quarterback. He knew that they needed to add another one to the room and that's exactly what they did.
“I really wasn’t surprised,” Trubisky said Tuesday on the first day of offseason training activities at the Steelers’ South Side facility. “We needed to add to the quarterback room and that's what we did.”
Steelers Trubisky Remembers Dwayne Haskins
While training with Trubisky in Florida teammate Dwayne Haskins lost his life after a night out. Haskins of course was struck and killed by a dump truck while attempting to flag someone down to help him as his vehicle was out of gas. Toxicology reports revealed on Monday showed that the quarterback was well over the legal limit when he was killed.
But according to Trubisky he's always on his mind.
"It’s heartbreaking,” Trubisky said. “I only knew him for short time, but I think about him every day — when I wake up, when I step on the field. He’s in our hearts and all we can do is go out there and honor him every day.”
Fellow quarterback Mason Rudolph who spent the 2021 season working with Haskins talked about Haskins on his first day back for OTA's too.
“I walked today to the quarterback room and it’s sobering — he’s never going to walk back into the room,” Rudolph said. “Every time he came into the quarterback room, he had a smile on his face and kept it light. He was a good teammate — to me and to everybody. I’m still kind of adjusting to him not ever going to be in that quarterback room again.”
The Steelers will likely honor Haskins during the season with a helmet decal or patch.
