Tomlin Planned to Bench Trubisky Before Halftime Confrontation, per Report

Mitchell Trubisky’s halftime incident with Diontae Johnson reportedly didn’t influence Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to turn to Kenny Pickett.

There seems to be more to the story about the report regarding Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky being benched in the second half of Pittsburgh’s Week 4 game against the Jets following a heated locker room confrontation with receiver Diontae Johnson.

With the Steelers trailing 10-6 at halftime, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin already had planned to bench Trubisky in the second half, a source told The Athletic. If that is accurate, the halftime altercation had nothing to do with Tomlin’s decision.

Rookie Kenny Pickett replaced Trubisky in what became a 24–20 Pittsburgh loss.

While details about the confrontation haven’t been made public, Johnson addressed the situation on Wednesday, noting that something did happen between the teammates. Johnson said he and Trubisky are now “fine” after clearing the air and making up.

Tomlin was asked about the report on Tuesday, but he wouldn’t confirm or deny the incident.

Trubisky did not speak to media on Wednesday.

The original report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette detailed that the altercation began with Johnson apparently yelling at Trubisky to throw him more passes. This came after Johnson missed a pass in the first half, resulting in an interception, and stepped out of bounds during a potential touchdown play. Trubisky then told Johnson his concerns, and the conversation got out of hand.

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