Steelers QB Kenny Pickett threw for just 257 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs in Sunday night's loss to the Dolphins. The 72.7% completion rate was nice, but the mere 5.8 yards per pass attempt reveals that the rookie passer couldn't get anything going deep. WR Chase Claypool said after the game that he believes the offense needs "more go balls" to take advantage of the WR talent. We can't argue with that, though it remains to be seen whether Pickett can support his wideouts in that area. Claypool followed a strong Week 6 with a pedestrian 5-41 receiving line on 8 targets. WR Diontae Johnson caught 5 of his team-high 10 targets for 42 yards. WR George Pickens caught all 6 of his looks for 61 yards, including an athletic grab in the end zone for the team's only TD. Pittsburgh gets a tough matchup at Philadelphia in Week 8.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report. He’ll start on Sunday night vs. Miami’s 20th-ranked QB defense. The rookie is only an option in 2-QB and Superflex leagues.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) and TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion) put in full practices again on Thursday. Both guys remain on track to play vs. the Dolphins on Sunday night.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (concussion) got in a full practice on Wednesday. HC Mike Tomlin said the rookie will start vs. the Dolphins on Sunday night if he clears concussion protocol -- and he seems on track. We'll get another update on Pickett tomorrow.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett exited for a concussion check in the 3rd quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Bucs. We'll update his status when we know more. QB Mitchell Trubisky is in for Pittsburgh.
Update: Pickett has been ruled out with a concussion.
Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards, with 0 TDs and an INT in Sunday's loss to the Bills. He completed 34 of 52 attempts while taking 3 sacks in the 38-3 defeat. Pickett threw 8+ targets apiece to George Pickens, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. He draws another challenging matchup in Week 6 with Tampa Bay, which hit Week 5 ranked 3rd in Football Outsiders' pass-defense DVOA.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that Steelers coaches have encouraged QB Kenny Pickett "all week" to continue taking shots downfield in his starting debut at Buffalo today. Pickett didn't hesitate to throw deep in his 1st regular-season action vs. the Jets last week. That helped lead to 3 INTs. This is good news for fantasy football, though. Pickett may well turn the ball over against a tough Bills defense, but throwing deeper presents more yardage and scoring upside for Pittsburgh's WR targets. There will be risk to playing anyone in the Steelers offense in this matchup. Myriad injuries in the Buffalo secondary help the upside as well, though. We're not playing Pickett in fantasy football lineups, but his 203.5 passing-yards line is interesting for Underdog Pick Ems, with his team likely to be chasing most of the day.
The Steelers are moving forward with Kenny Pickett as their starting QB, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's the logical move after the rookie led Pittsburgh to a pair of TDs in the 2nd half of Sunday's loss to the Jets. Pickett tossed 3 INTs in that one -- but 1 went of TE Pat Freiermuth's hands and the other was an end-of-game Hail Mary. Pickett sits 12th among 34 QBs in Pro Football Focus' Week 4 passing grades (with the Monday night game still to go). He's only an option in 2-QB fantasy leagues for now, but we think he'll be an upgrade over QB Mitchell Trubisky for this Pittsburgh offense. Of course, it'll be tough sledding this weekend in Buffalo
The Steelers have removed QB Mitchell Trubisky from their game against the Jets and inserted rookie Kenny Pickett. We'll see how this initial appearance goes and what HC Mike Tomlin says afterward, but don't be surprised if this switch becomes permanent. Trubisky has continued to play like Trubisky through the early part of this season. That included going 7 of 13 passing against the Jets, for 84 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hears that the Steelers will give QB Mitchell Trubisky a "long look" as the starter. 1st-round rookie QB Kenny Pickett had a strong preseason, but according to Rapoport, the Steelers would like this to play out like it did for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, with Trubisky starting all year and Pickett taking over in 2023. We'll see if Trubisky can play well enough to make that happen. We're still betting on seeing Pickett this year.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin officially named QB Mitch Trubisky the starter for Sunday's opener vs. the Bengals. He played well enough in the preseason to hold off a hard-charging Kenny Pickett. “We're really comfortable with what Mitch has shown us," Tomlin said. We're still expecting Pickett to take over at some point this season. In the meantime, Trubisky's rushing ability and weaponry gives him some QB2 appeal.
The Steelers' Week 1 QB depth chart reads: Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett. HC Mike Tomlin hasn't announced his Week 1 starter, but it sure looks like it'll be Trubisky under center vs. Cincinnati. We're still expecting to see Pickett make multiple starts this season.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin announced Friday that QB Mitchell Trubisky will start the preseason finale. He did not specify how much each QB will play in the game. This doesn't necessarily mean Trubisky will open the regular season as starter. But it would seem to make sense for the team to get a look at Kenny Pickett to open the game if it planned to put him behind center in Week 1. We're certainly betting on the 1st-round rookie taking over at some point this season, and we'll see about the Week 1 plan. Signs points to Pittsburgh opening with the vet, though.
The Steelers are happy with the progress QB Kenny Pickett has made over the past month. The rookie struggled early in camp but has been excellent in 2 preseason games, completing 86.4% of his passes with 3 TDs and 0 INT. “The thing that stood out with Kenny from the games is that it hasn’t been too big for him,” QBs coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has gone in and performed very well and not been overwhelmed by the circumstances and the situations and the pressure. Secondly, he has shown a knack, particularly in this second game, to have poise and anticipation. He made some throws with defenders right up in his face." Pickett might not be named Pittsburgh's Week 1 starter, but we're expecting him to take over before long. He's worth a look as a QB3 in Superflex leagues and 1-QB best-ball leagues.
Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett worked 2nd behind Mitchell Trubisky in Saturday's preseason game against the Jaguars, and he fared quite well. The 1st-round pick completed 6 of 7 passes for 76 yards and a go-ahead TD with time running out at the end of the 1st half. He logged a near-perfect 151.5 passer routing and worked with Pittsburgh's starting pass-catchers. HC Mike Tomlin seemed impressed afterward with Pickett driving the team for the late-1st-half TD. "It's probably who he is," Tomlin said, referring to Pickett's ability to perform under pressure. "I know he did it next door [in college]. He probably did it in high school, and he probably did it in little league. Some things, people are born with." Tomlin also said that he thought Trubisky "played well" and that the team needed to protect him better and run the ball more effectively to give a "fair evaluation" between the QBs. When asked whether there would be any movement on the QB depth chart, Tomlin declined to make any "knee-jerk reactions." From our vantage point, Pickett certainly seems to be building his case for taking over the job at some point this year -- even if he doesn't claim it by Week 1.
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