Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on Quarterback Depth Chart Heading into Carolina

[Steeler Nation]

Steeler Nation has been quite adamant as of late about who they feel should be the QB2 behind future Hall of Fame quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger, heading into the 2021 NFL regular season. Since his arrival from Washington, Dwayne Haskins has been nothing but humble, professional, and has become a fan favorite here in Pittsburgh. Couple that with his impressive preseason showing thus far (271 passing yards, 1 TD, 0 INT’s in three games), you can see why fans want to see Haskins as the primary backup this season.

Today, Bob Labriola of Steelers.com had a chance to get Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin‘s take on what he feels is the most current appropriate depth chart order for the quarterback position — a question all of Steeler Nation has been extremely eager to hear the announcement of. Labriola asked, “Throughout training camp and the preseason process, your quarterbacks have been utilized in this order: Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins, Joshua Dobbs. Is that an accurate reflection of the quarterback depth chart as we sit here right now?” Tomlin answered:

“There’s fluidity in it, and you know we have a final test here tonight in Carolina. Haskins is going to get an opportunity to play, Dobbs is going to get an opportunity to play. We’re not playing Ben, and we’re not playing Mason, and that’s probably reflective of their position going into the process, but all quarterbacks have done a nice job and been professional and represented themselves well and have worked hard to do the things that we’ve asked them to do. And so, at the end of this journey we’ll establish that position in totality, but tonight we’re just excited about getting these two guys ready to play.”

It would appear that tonight’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers will also hold some weight in regards to which quarterback will end up being QB2 come September. According to Labriola, coach Tomlin believes Haskins has the necessary “arm talent” and “pedigree” to be successful with this team, but believes there are things Haskins needs to “continue to work on.” Overall, Tomlin had this to say about the current back quarterback situation:

“I like the position we’re in. I think we have four NFL quarterbacks in our camp, and you know just based on my experience over the years, you can’t go wrong when you have four NFL quarterbacks (on your 90-man roster). I think back to the years where we had Byron Leftwich, Charlie Batch, and Dennis Dixon, and we were always trying to figure out how to sort through those four guys and by circumstance something always played where we continued that process, and we managed those four guys for a number of years. A number of years ago, we had Landry Jones and Mason Rudolph and Josh Dobbs, and I thought we had four NFL quarterbacks in camp, and in that circumstance one of the two young guys really supplanted Landry Jones in that camp. So, I like the fact that we have four NFL quarterbacks in this camp. It’s a good position to be in. Those guys are deserving of how this plays out and I imagine if there’s a guy on the outside looking in at the end of this, he’s still going to find work in this league.”

Finally, when denoting that both Roethlisberger and Rudolph will sit in tonight’s game, Labriola suggested that that meant that we as fans could assume that both of those quarterbacks are the first two on the depth chart. Tomlin had this to say:

“You can assume whatever it is you want, but it may be wrong.”

Who do yinz think will end up being QB2 when it’s all said and done by Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills? What are yinz looking for tonight from Haskins against the Panthers? Click to comment below!

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[Stewey]

Who do yinz think will end up being QB2 when it’s all said and done by Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills?

#SteelerNation

Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..

Ok, I'll start.

Haskins

 

[Drink IRON City]

Thanks B-Wall


Haskins and Dobbs are battling for the #3. No ifs ands or buts. Haskins isn't over taking Rudolf at this point. Rudolf isn't Ben's replacement unless just to carry over till we draft better but he is good enough to not be worried against Haskins.



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