Everything Mike Tomlin said about Kenny Pickett, Steelers loss to Jets

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon, falling to 1-3 on the season. Mike Tomlin addressed Kenny Pickett’s debut and more in his press conference.

Tomlin wouldn’t commit to starting Pickett next week, but that was likely just out of respect to incumbent starter Mitch Trubisky.

The Steelers signed Trubisky this offseason as a stopgap quarterback, and then went on to draft Pickett out of Pitt. While Tomlin backed Trubisky and the team’s offense despite a rough three weeks to open the season, a bad half against the Jets was enough to change his mind.

Pickett got the call to start the second half, and gave the Steelers the “spark” Tomlin was hoping for, as he mentioned in his postgame press conference. Unfortunately, that spark brought turnovers as well as touchdowns, which likely led to the team’s ultimate demise.

Tomlin evaded the question as to whether or not he would start Pickett next week, but it would be a surprise to see him go back to Trubisky.

Will Steelers start Kenny Pickett moving forward?

Pickett completed 10-of-13 passes, with his three incompletions all going for interceptions. Turnovers are part of the learning process with any young quarterback, and there will be plenty more where that came from if Tomlin opts to stick with Pickett.

At this point, the Steelers would be best served going with Pickett for the long term. For better or worse, Pittsburgh needs to find out what they have in Pickett. Either way, they are unlikely to play much winning football. So why not take a step forward at the most important position in the process?

If Pickett plays well enough then perhaps the Steelers have their quarterback of the future. If not, they’ll have another high pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to right that wrong. But sitting on their hands and letting Trubisky drive them to six wins isn’t going to prove anything.