PITTSBURGH — Part of me believes Mike Tomlin just wants to keep the ruse going, that he wants us to believe he ran the legit quarterback "competition" he promised, when he knew all along that Mitch Trubisky would be unchallenged.
But I have to admit, Tomlin's words — or word — on Monday gave me pause.
He was talking about how this week of practice and Sunday's preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, in particular, could decide multiple position battles. ESPN's Brooke Pryor asked if "starting quarterback" was one of them.
"Yes," Tomlin said.
If you're taking Tomlin at his word — a risky endeavor with any coach when it comes to these kinds of things — that single utterance should have shaken the South Side practice complex like one of those trains driving past.
Just about every other team has decided on its Week 1 quarterback, including the Carolina Panthers, who picked one Baker Mayfield to start against the Cleveland Browns. Why hasn't Tomlin named his starter, if it has clearly been Trubisky all along?
Does he simply want to make it official on his schedule rather than a reporter's? Or are you telling me Kenny Pickett still has a chance?
If it's the latter, then Sunday's preseason finale should feel like a mix of "America's Got Talent" and the Super Bowl. Every snap should carry enormous implications.
And I must admit, part of me does wonder if Pickett still has a chance. What if Tomlin has been playing us all along, the way he played people in the months leading up to the draft, making them believe Malik Willis was the apple of his eye?
I'll bet Tomlin sees some of himself in Pickett.
Fifteen years ago, Tomlin was the brash young job candidate who seemed to have arrived slightly before his time and would have to wait. But once the door cracked, he kicked it in. He blew away the Steelers in his interviews, kind of the way Pickett has blown them away in his first two "interviews," going 19 of 22 for 171 yards and three touchdowns (four if you include the discounted one), no interceptions and a 138.6 passer rating.
Tomlin fooled a lot of us once by drafting Pickett 20th overall. The Steelers even tried to trade up to get him. Who's to say he isn't fooling us again? He obviously became a Pickett guy long ago, to the point where he basically staked his future on him. As such, this is a man the coach would want to find reasons to play.
Pickett is giving him those reasons. He looked incredibly poised Saturday against the Jaguars, standing in hot pockets, making correct reads and delivering in-stride strikes that allowed receivers to gain extra yards.
Sure, it was only an exhibition game — an obligatory interview, if you will. But an interview by any name is an interview nonetheless.
Having said all that, the smart money would still be on Trubisky to open the season Sept. 11 at Cincinnati. He's been good for the most part. He played well in the exhibition opener. He has handled the role of assumed starter quite nicely.
All along, however, an uncomfortable truth has hovered over the process: Trubisky was brought here as an insurance policy and paid like a backup. That is what the evidence shows. We now know that Tomlin fell in love with Pickett many moons ago. Problem was, he had no guarantee he'd get him. Logic says that is why the Steelers bought an insurance policy, and a cheap one at that.
I still think Trubisky could take advantage of this opportunity, but the idea that he had the resume to go unchallenged is ridiculous. Nobody arrives at the last-chance saloon with a guaranteed job. Trubisky was always vulnerable and remains so.
As for the opener, the standard thinking seems to be that Trubisky's experience would give the Steelers the best chance to beat the Bengals. I say there's a fine line between "giving us the best chance" and "throwing you to the wolves while we try to get our line issues straightened out for the rookie."
No matter the rationale, what applies to Pickett applies to Trubisky in this sense: If Trubisky gets the call in Cincinnati, that's his first real interview. If he plays well, he'll stay in place with a chance to buy more time each week. But I suspect his margin for error is dwindling and will shrink even more if Pickett plays lights out again Sunday.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported this week that people around the league are beginning to believe Pickett will play sooner rather than later.
"I think, essentially, as soon as Mitchell Trubisky has a stumble early in the season, that will open the door for Kenny Pickett," Schefter said.
Meantime, it's not really about Trubisky doing anything to lose the job. It's about what Pickett is doing to win it. And Tomlin, even if you only have 5% belief in what he said, has turned what normally would be a snorefest of a preseason finale into must-see television.
Get your popcorn ready.
