After Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett left the game on Sunday against the Houston Texans with a knee injury, it was believed that the team would be without their signal-caller for at least a few weeks. But Pickett was out on the field on Wednesday appearing to be a full participant in practice. He did have a brace on his knee though for extra support.
Brian Batko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After practice, Pickett addressed the media during his usual spot on Wednesday. Pickett showed little concern about whether or not he'd be able to play on Sunday saying that he trusts the process and he'd be ready. Reporter Mike DeFabo from The Athletic shared this video of Pickett addressing the media.
"Yeah, it feels good. I'm confident that the plan we have by Sunday that I'll feel a lot better... I'll be good to go by Sunday."
Kenny Pickett says “I’ll be ready to go by Sunday.” https://t.co/FCRVpQGVNo pic.twitter.com/dpbh6CW8fm
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) October 4, 2023
On Tuesday, reports surfaced that Pickett was dealing with a bone bruise and didn't suffer any ligament damage. That news was literally best-case scenario for Pittsburgh. Any other scenario would've likely caused Pickett to miss at least four weeks.
"We'll let tomorrow be our guide in terms of how we move forward," Tomlin said regarding Pickett's status during his weekly news conference Tuesday.
While it does seem that Pickett is saying all the right things right now, it's important to note that he did seem to be a little bit gimpy in the videos shared by several media members. It is great to hear that Pickett himself is declaring that he will play on Sunday, but it will ultimately come down to the Steelers training staff and doctors. If there is any chance that Pickett could further injure himself by playing, then the team has to shut him down with the bye week coming up next.
Kenny Pickett is wearing a bulky brace on his left knee. Here he is moving around during some drills at practice. pic.twitter.com/Fie2E4icXO
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) October 4, 2023
Some Steelers Fans Want Mitch Trubisky
Stop me if you've heard this before, but some of Steeler Nation is actually pulling for Mitch Trubisky to start on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. With the Steelers offense stuck in neutral for much of the season, a lot of fans have started to give up on Pickett. But they must have forgotten the three interceptions by Trubisky in last year's loss to the Ravens at Acrisure Stadium.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / x: @jsko_photo)
Steelers backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky takes a snap during warm ups
Trubisky entered the game for Pickett in Houston at the beginning of the fourth quarter and promptly completed his first pass. But after that, he had two straight incompletions to George Pickens and the Steelers were forced the punt. They'd get the ball back one last time with 3:39 left in the game, but already trailing 30-6, they'd just run out the clock. On that drive, Trubisky only threw 2 times during the 7-play sequence. Both times were short passes to Jaylen Warren out of the backfield.
When Trubisky first entered the game, he appeared to be the same Trubisky as always. He stared down Pickens on both throws to him failing to make any other reads. One of the passes should've been picked off and the other was just a bad pass.
For now, it appears that Pickett will start, but if they are forced to turn to Trubisky, don't expect to confuse him with Ben Roethlisberger suddenly.
Are you comfortable with a less than 100% Kenny Pickett starting over Mitch Trubisky? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
