ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler has dropped a big hint into the future of the quarterback battle at the Pittsburgh Steelers between Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are operating this offseason from a position that they haven’t found themselves in since the 2005 offseason, not knowing who their starting quarterback is going to be following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger this past January. 

Following his retirement, the Steelers picked up former Chicago Bears QB Mitch Trubisky as a free agent before picking up the University of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett with the #20 pick in April’s NFL Draft, whilst also retaining the services of Roethlisberger’s backup in the form of Mason Rudolph.

The battle to be the starting quarterback has already begun, and as the months move from May to June with the NFL season just 100 days away, all reports lean towards Trubisky currently holding the lead when it comes to the number one spot.

The natural progression

Given that he has far and away the most NFL experience of anyone in the mix, Trubisky being the starter at this stage does make a lot of sense, and whilst his spell with the Bears was often met with ridicule, the numbers show that he actually might still have something to offer in the league.

He amassed a record of 29-21 in the regular season, threw for 10,609 yards and 64 touchdowns to just 37 interceptions, but a lack of team success, some inconsistencies, as well as comparisons to the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, both of whom were available to be drafted when Trubiksy was on the board, meant that his time there will ultimately be seen as a failure:

So perhaps the chance to work for a better team in the Steelers, who have one of the league’s top defences and a good young core of players to work with, might give him the opportunity to resurrect his career.

Not so fast

The drafting of Pickett could turn out to be a problem for him though, because when a team uses their first-round pick on a quarterback, the expectation is that he is going to start sooner or later.

And according to Fowler, that is set to be the case in Pittsburgh, perhaps sooner rather than later, as he claimed that the Steelers don’t intend for Pickett to sit behind Trubisky for too much longer:

So Trubisky is really going to have to make the most of his opportunities going forward, because it doesn’t seem as if he’s going to have that long of a leash before the Steelers pass the role over.

But if he at least puts in a good showing for the Steelers, then it might just be enough to convince other teams to look out for him when next summer rolls around.