ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Thursday afternoon that Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (ankle) has been officially ruled out for Week 16 vs. the Bengals. Although Pickett had been able to log limited practice participation on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was widely anticipated that he would not make his return this week. HC Mike Tomlin had already named Mason Rudolph as the team's starter for Saturday several days ago, which lines up with our projections. Unless you are in desperation mode, it's best to leave Rudolph out of fantasy lineups. See where he lands in our current QB rankings.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (ankle) got in a limited practice on Tuesday. HC Mike Tomlin named QB Mason Rudolph the Week 16 starter on Monday but also didn't rule out Pickett being able to return. We'll keep an eye on his progress over the next few days, but hopefully you're not invested in this situation in fantasy lineups.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Monday that QB Mason Rudolph will start Saturday's game against the Bengals. Actually, he said, "As I stand here today, Mason Rudolph is the guy with the ball," according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor. Tomlin also didn't rule out QB Kenny Pickett being ready to return. Tomlin said that Pickett would not only need medical clearance following surgery for his high-ankle sprain but also need to show he can protect himself and "be sharp," according to Dale Lolley of Steelers.com. We'll keep an eye on the situation throughout the week, but there's not a whole lot of fantasy value to squeeze from this pass offense either way. Here's hoping you have better lineup options at QB, WR, and TE for Week 16.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (ankle) is out for Saturday's game vs. the Colts, HC Mike Tomlin said Monday. The fact that Pickett has been ruled out this early in the week means he's nowhere close to returning. QB Mitchell Trubisky gets another start this weekend after a miserable showing vs. the Patriots this past Thursday.
On Sunday evening, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted that Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is scheduled to undergo ankle surgery on Monday. He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, effectively making backup Mitchell Trubisky the starter. The Steelers are set for a quick turnaround, with their next game coming Thursday night vs. the Patriots. Consider Trubsiky as a low-end QB2 option.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett will miss an "extended period" with his ankle injury, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac. We'll look for a more detailed diagnosis and timetable for Pickett's return, but it sounds like it'll be QB Mitchell Trubisky under center for the Steelers for the foreseeable future. He's completed 63.8% of his passes at 6.7 yards per attempt over the past two seasons in Pittsburgh. Trubisky will be a bottom-barrel QB2 in fantasy football but probably won't be a significant downgrade from Pickett for the offense.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett hurt his ankle in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Cardinals and is questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more. QB Mitchell Trubisky will replace Pickett.
Update: Pickett has been ruled out. He's on the sidelines with his right foot in a walking boot.
The Steelers have fired OC Matt Canada, who has been running the unit since 2021. In that time, Pittsburgh has ranked 21st, 26th, and 28th (so far this year) in scoring. Each season has found the offense ranking 28th in yards per play. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the team plans to promote RBs coach Eddie Faulkner to OC but hand play-calling duties to QBs coach Mike Sullivan. Faulkner has coached Steelers RBs since 2019 (and previously served in the same role for the team in 2012). His only OC experience to date has been with Ball State in 2009-10. Sullivan has been coaching at the college level or higher for 30 years. He has been in the NFL since 2002, including stints as Buccaneers OC (2012-13) and Giants OC (2016-17). Those offenses finished -- in order -- 13th, 30th, 26th, and 31st in scoring; eighth, 32nd, 24th, and 25th in yards per play. Sullivan didn't get great QB play across those offenses. He started with fourth-season Josh Freeman in Tampa, and then got primarily Mike Glennon the following year. His two seasons at the Giants' offensive helm came in Eli Manning's age-35 and age-36 campaigns. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo says Sullivan has a "strong relationship" with Steelers QB Kenny Pickett, but the new guy probably isn't an upgrade on those previous situations. The switch should be positive for usable skill-position Steelers, though. Canada never won as a play caller and often sported questionable run-pass splits given the output. This year's Steelers also should find upside in a softening schedule. According to FTN's Aaron Schatz, Pittsburgh faced the league's toughest schedule so far this year by total defensive DVOA. Over a full season, the 2023 schedule to date would rank third-toughest of any team since 1981. You can see the negative fantasy impacts of those opponents on our Strength of Schedule pages. The remaining schedule ranks fifth-best for RB scoring and ninth-best for WRs. (Just 17th for TEs, though.) We'll see whether the run-pass splits change. That question plus Pickett's limitations make the WRs tough to get excited about. RB Najee Harris looks interesting, though -- especially because his trade cost has been driven down by meager production and Jaylen Warren's recent numbers.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (rib) is not listed on the final Week 9 injury report. He put in a full practice on Wednesday and is set to start Thursday night's game vs. the Titans. The rib issue still adds some risk to Pickett's fantasy profile -- and he wasn't a very attractive option to begin with
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett told reporters Tuesday that he's "playing for sure" Thursday night against the Titans. We had been expecting that Pickett would sit with the rib injury that knocked him out of the loss to the Jaguars. But you can now find Pickett in the Week 9 QB rankings. We don't see much difference between the QBs in terms of their impact on Steelers WR production against Tennessee.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Steelers are "keeping an open mind" about QB Kenny Pickett potentially rebounding from Sunday's rib injury to play Thursday night against the Titans. There's obviously nothing wrong with the team refusing to rule out its starting QB three days ahead of kickoff. We'd be surprised if Pickett is ready for the game, though. We're expecting Mitchell Trubisky to line up behind center against Tennessee. Of course, this situation doesn't matter a whole lot for fantasy purposes, because neither QB is very good.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport "didn't sense a lot of optimism" about Steelers QB Kenny Pickett's availability for Thursday night's game vs. the Titans. We're still waiting for details on the rib injury Pickett suffered in the Week 8 loss to the Jaguars, but he was always a long shot to be ready on the short turnaround. Look for QB Mitchell Trubisky to start vs. Tennessee. He's completed 63.7% of his passes at 6.6 yards per attempt with five TDs and seven INTs in nine appearances (five starts) for the Steelers since the start of 2022.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett suffered a rib injury in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Jaguars and has been ruled out. He's been replaced by QB Mitchell Trubisky. We'll update Pickett's status when we know more.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett completed 17 of 25 passes for 230 yards with 0 TDs or INTs in Week 7 vs. the Rams. The second-year starter also punched in a rushing TD in the third quarter of the contest. Despite not registering a passing score, Pickett’s 15.2 fantasy points are his second-highest total this season. He’ll be in the low-end QB2 discussion next week vs. the Jaguars.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth reinjured his hamstring in Thursday's practice, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Freiermuth will miss this weekend's game vs. the Rams and "likely will be sidelined longer," per Pelissero. Freiermuth can be dropped in shallower fantasy leagues. His absence is good news for WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens' target shares.
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