Who Will Be The Steelers Next Quarterback? Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky Could Start In 2022

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for their next quarterback for the first time in almost two decades. Following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, two signal callers have a legitimate chance to lead the team in the 2022 NFL season.

Mitchell Trubisky signed a two-year, $14.285 million contract with the Steelers in free agency. Pittsburgh used the No. 20 overall pick to select Kenny Pickett, the only quarterback taken in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Will Trubisky or Pickett be the Steelers’ next quarterback?

The veteran Trubisky probably has a better chance to start the 2022 season as Pittsburgh’s No. 1 quarterback. Pickett is much more likely to be the Steelers’ long-term answer, and he does have a realistic shot to beat out Trubisky and start for his entire rookie campaign.

"He certainly has a chance (to be our Week 1 starter)," Steelers head coach Tomlin said of Pickett to NFL Network's Rich Eisen. "I agree with that sentiment of his readiness from a professional perspective."

Mason Rudolph is still on the Steelers' roster. It's hard to believe that Rudolph could actually win the starting job after throwing for 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and an 80.9 rating in 17 games since 2019.

Pickett will be 24 years old at the start of training camp and is older than most quarterbacks who are first-round draft picks. In his final college football season at the University of Pittsburgh, Pickett went 11-2 with 4,319 passing yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Pickett was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year.

The Steelers intend to compete for a playoff spot, so Trubisky is likely to be named the starter if he outperforms Pickett in the preseason. Pittsburgh earned a wild-card berth last season and hasn’t finished with a losing record since drafting Roethlisberger in 2004.

Trubisky has five seasons of NFL experience, including two starts in the playoffs. The No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft was selected to the 2018 Pro Bowl before a pair of poor seasons forced him to take a role as a backup with the Buffalo Bills for the 2021 season.

In his rookie season with the Chicago Bears, Trubisky spent the first four games on the bench before becoming the team’s starter. The roles could be reversed in 2022. Trubisky might get the chance to start until Pittsburgh feels a change needs to be made.

In 57 career games, Trubisky has an 87.0 passer rating.

Pickett is the co-favorite to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award at BetMGM with +650 odds. Those odds suggest that Pickett will be the Steelers starting quarterback for most, if not all, of the season.

Three of the five first-round quarterbacks in 2021 started the season under center, and only one of them wasn’t the permanent starter by Week 3.