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Trubisky to start vs. Jaguars; Pickett, Rudolph next

The Steelers take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night in their second preseason game, and Mitch Trubisky will once again get the start.

But the rotation after that will flip from a week ago.

Rookie No. 1 pick Kenny Pickett will follow Trubisky in the rotation, with Mason Rudolph coming in after Pickett.

"In regard to the quarterbacks, we intend to play all three in this game," said Coach Mike Tomlin during his weekly press conference. "Mitch will start. Kenny will be next. And then Mason will finish it off.

"All three guys have performed well. I really think the main emphasis and the mentality regarding how we structured it this week, is we simply want to see Kenny in more varsity action. We know more about Mason. Mitch has been around the professional game.

"And so, this is a big week for (Kenny) in terms of maybe getting in in the first half of this game and I would imagine getting the opportunity to see frontline defenders for Jacksonville."

Tomlin said he likes the work the quarterbacks have done so far though four weeks of training camp and one preseason game, and once again the focus this week is moving the ball, making plays and protecting the ball.

"Excited about those guys continuing to work and lead and make plays and take care of the football, all the things that we value," said Tomlin. "Whether it's the formal components of the job or the informal components to the job, I've really been impressed by the group, and we'll just continue to sort through it day-by-day. Obviously in stadium performance is a significant component of it."

Unlike a week ago when some of the veteran starters, including T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward, didn't play, Tomlin said it will be more inclusive this week with all healthy players expected to see action. One player he did rule out was rookie Calvin Austin III, who was injured in practice last Friday.

"In terms of play, we're casting a big net," said Tomlin. "All that are healthy to this point are scheduled to play. That's the mentality that you want the group to have. And that's the approach we're taking.

"How much they play is still to be determined. We still got a workday in front of us here today. And so, you're always somewhat cautious in this environment to make hardcore plans. Because things happened a week ago. We had some plans for Calvin Austin and Anthony Miller for example. In a setting like this, we're leading up to a game and by the time we got to the game, they were unavailable.

"We have a hardcore plan, but we will remain light on our feet. Our mentality is inclusive, we want to see work from all parties involved and obviously once we get in game based on how things are going, we'll make appropriate adjustments on when we roll people in and things of that nature. But just excited about it, about where we are in the process and the information that we're going to be able to gather going into a new stadium."

Tune in: Steelers Nation, NFL+ is here, which means you can now watch your Steelers live and on the go! Watch live out-of-market preseason games across devices and live local and primetime regular season games on your phone or tablet. Start your free trial today here.

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