Recent Mike Tomlin quote indicates Steelers rebuild expected to be short

Mike Tomlin hinted that though the Pittsburgh Steelers may be bad now, they don’t expect to be bad for long under Kenny Pickett.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are not mathematically eliminated from NFL playoff contention, but it’s likely they won’t get there. At 4-7, they are not a good team, though they have looked a lot better since their bye week than they did to start the year.

That’s a credit to both the team for getting some of the pieces aligned and back on track, as well as the development of Kenny Pickett. After a slow start, his stats have started to resemble that of Ben Roethlisberger, an incredibly optimistic sign if you’re a Steelers fan.

After trading away Chase Claypool at the deadline, it’s clear the Steelers planned on retooling and rebuilding, so now the question is all about the timeline. How long is a rebuild expected to take, and when can fans hope to go from a middling, developing team to a competitive one?

If recent Tomlin quotes about Pickett are any indication, it won’t be long before the black and yellow are back to their winning ways.

Mike Tomlin indicates team doesn’t want to lose for long

In an article from Brooke Pryor centered on Kenny Pickett’s development so far this season, Mike Tomlin had this to say:

"“He’s getting better every week, and it’s in a very natural way because of experience,” Tomlin said. “He’s a competitor, he’s smart. But it’s still a lot of meat on the bone and it’s just the process. He’s good enough and we’re good enough to win while that happens. We’re not grading him or us on a curve. We’re acknowledging he’s very much in development. With each snap comes exposure, and sharp guys that are competitors, they grow from those things.”"

Focus in on the middle there. “He’s good enough and we’re good enough to win while that happens.”

Tomlin does not expect the development to happen and then wins. Nope, wins should come along with the development.

Longtime Steelers fans will remember this is the path Pittsburgh took with Big Ben. In his first two seasons as a starter, Roethlisberger went 22-3.

Pickett has already stacked up four losses, but things are turning around, going 2-1 in the last three games.

There will be road bumps, no doubt, but the Steelers plan to figure it out sooner rather than later. Especially as long as Tomlin is around, the expectation is going to be geared toward winning.