Quarterback Competition Heating Up As Preseason Approaches
Latrobe, PA. - One thing has been certain throughout the 2030 training camp at Saint Vincent College, these Pittsburgh Steelers are intent on putting a turbulent 2029 season firmly behind them.
"You can feel it in the air," second-year head coach Nathan Scheelhaase said during a late camp media session. "You can hear it in the intensity these guys bring every single day. They want to give this city something real to cheer about again. And it starts at the top. Guys like T.J., DK, and Pat have set the standard, and everyone else has followed."
When conversation turned to the quarterback competition that has dominated the narrative since the first day of camp, Scheelhaase allowed a small grin before retreating to coach speak.
"They're both fiery competitors. Neither wants to lose, that's for sure. But there's no ill will in it, they both know why they're here, and they're leaving everything on the practice field."
Pressed to reveal who held the edge heading into the preseason, Scheelhaase simply smirked.
"Not today, Satan."
While the quarterback battle is the most high-profile competition in Latrobe, it is also one of the few genuine roster battles on a team that is otherwise veteran-laden, experienced, and by most accounts, motivated. The fanbase has taken notice.
"Scheelhaase has to get this choice right, period," wrote self-appointed super-fan Davis J. Porter on X. "We can't play musical quarterbacks with the tail end of T.J.'s career, not with a team that has all the talent to reach the Super Bowl."
Before the preseason gets underway, here is a look at the position battles worth watching in Latrobe.
Quarterback
Jaxson Dart vs. Leonard Lawry
Many assumed Leonard Lawry arrived in Pittsburgh as the de facto frontrunner—the organization did surrender significant draft capital to acquire him from Minnesota, after all. Jaxson Dart has not read that memo.
"Coach Scheelhaase brought me in for a reason too," Dart said with quiet confidence when asked about the competition. "I know the ability I have. It's just a matter of showing it consistently enough to prove I'm the best option for this team going forward."
Asked how the competition has affected his relationship with Lawry, both men learning a new offensive system simultaneously, Dart was candid.
"I mean, we're competing—definitely. We both want to be the victor at the end of the day. But we're still teammates, and teammates support each other. This isn't Survivor. One of us isn't getting voted off the island when this is all over. We'll still be teammates, just with a different hierarchy."
Lawry confirmed the dynamic when speaking with reporters later in the week, though he made his own intentions equally clear.
"Jax is my dog, bottom line," Lawry said. "Doesn't mean we aren't going to get after each other in practice and try to one-up each other every rep—but that's what makes a battle like this fun. It's like a game of 'whatever you can do, I can do better,' and at the end of the day, that pushes both of us to a higher level."
Lawry paused before adding, with full confidence, "But like I said—Jax is my dude. When it's go time though, everyone's going to know who the big dog on campus is."
He then reached for a comparison that has apparently become a running theme throughout camp.
"Think of us like the Bad Boys. Y'all know my middle name is Mike, right? That makes him Marcus—and we all know who the alpha was on that team."
Dart laughed telling the story to reporters separately.
"He's been saying that all camp, and you know what's crazy? He ain't lying. His middle name is Mikel—his dad was apparently a huge Bad Boys fan." Dart grinned before delivering his own counter. "But it's like I always tell him—he can talk like Mike Lawry, he can dress like Mike Lawry, and believe me, he does—but at the end of the day, Marcus is the reliable one. That's why I'll be taking snaps on opening day."
Those who have observed both quarterbacks throughout camp say the race is genuinely tight, with Scheelhaase and offensive coordinator Zac Taylor doing an admirable job splitting first-team reps evenly. The early eye test gives Dart a slight edge, with experience the primary differentiator.
"It's the savvy he has from being in multiple NFL systems now, approaching his fifth year in the league," one source observed. "Lawry is going into his second year, and while they're both learning a new system, the more times you've done it, the easier it gets."
The source added one note of caution for anyone ready to hand Dart the job.
"But Lawry is catching up. Quick."
Backup Running Back
Rueben Owens vs. Juan Steward vs. Jerrick Gibson
With Keaton Mitchell gone, someone has to fill the void he left as Pittsburgh's most reliable change-of-pace back and pass-catching threat out of the backfield. Despite being the highest-drafted of the candidates, second-year back Juan Steward is not being handed the role.
"Stew definitely fits the profile, but he's still raw," confirmed one source close to offensive coordinator Zac Taylor.
The player emerging as the most dependable option behind Quinshon Judkins is third-year pro Rueben Owens, whose consistency and reliability have impressed the coaching staff throughout camp. The timing is significant—Judkins carried the ball nearly 300 times last season, a workload that few backs can sustain in back-to-back years without consequence, and Pittsburgh will need a trustworthy complement to keep him healthy deep into the season.
Jerrick Gibson, also entering his third season, remains in the conversation but is considered a distant fourth option at this stage of camp—behind Owens, Steward, and the broader depth of a backfield that has more competition than it did a year ago.
Watt's Robin
Cole Rogan vs. Da'Shawn Womack vs. Tyree Wilson
T.J. Watt, entering his age-34 season, remains one of the most feared pass rushers in professional football. Last year's 13.5 sacks would represent a career year for most defensive ends—but for Watt, it was a notable decline from 18 the year prior and 26 just three seasons ago, and the numbers reflect what the tape confirms: opponents have become increasingly comfortable scheming away from him with extra protection.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been blunt about the solution.
"Give him a Robin," Flores said. "Someone to keep him from seeing double teams on every single snap. We have to do that, or we're wasting the final years of one of the most dominant pass rushers this game has ever seen."
The sentiment is shared across the league. Watt's most dominant seasons coincided with Alex Highsmith flanking the opposite side, and those who have watched him closely believe a legitimate running mate would return him to that form.
"He still has everything at 34," one observer told ESPN. "But at some point you get tired of fighting through double and triple teams just to sniff a sack. Pittsburgh has to get someone across from him to keep defenses honest."
The answer on the current roster is not obvious. Cole Rogan, Pittsburgh's first-round selection last spring, was drafted with the vision of becoming a dominant run-stopping bookend—a role he is developing into comfortably—but his pass-rushing technique on obvious passing downs remains a work in progress. Tyree Wilson has shown flashes but has never fully delivered on the promise that made him a high draft pick years ago.
The player generating the most genuine excitement in Latrobe is fourth-year pro Da'Shawn Womack, who has spent his time in Pittsburgh doing exactly what developmental players are supposed to do—watching, learning, and getting quietly stronger and more explosive with each passing season.
Watt, for one, has noticed.
"He's sat, watched, and learned," Watt said of Womack. "He's quietly gotten stronger, more athletic. And I think he's ready."
Kicker
Brandon Aubrey vs. Toby Mason
This is, by most accounts, the most surprising position battle on the list.
Brandon Aubrey has been one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL over the past decade, and no one in Pittsburgh seriously believes the Steelers will cut him in favor of undrafted rookie Toby Mason. That is not what this battle is about.
Aubrey is 34 years old, on a one-year deal, and connected on a career-low 72 percent of his field goal attempts last season—18 of 25. In his defense, all seven misses came from 50 yards or beyond, a distance that was considered legitimately difficult not long ago. In the current NFL landscape, where kickers routinely treat 55-plus-yard attempts as warm-ups, that caveat carries less weight than it once did.
Mason, an undrafted free agent out of Auburn, is ten years younger and playing for a fraction of Aubrey's salary. If the margin between them is closer than expected through the preseason, Pittsburgh is expected to retain Mason heading into the regular season with an eye toward transitioning him into the starting role when Aubrey's one-year deal expires.
This battle is not about 2029. It is about 2030.
The Steelers open the preseason Saturday night with a short trip to Philadelphia to face the Eagles. The quarterback competition—and everything else—begins in earnest.
