Earlier in the week, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said all healthy players will play. But he didn’t say how much they would play. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, QB Kenny Pickett will start but only play the first series.
Here’s what Dulac tweeted moments ago.
Pickett is entering his first season as the team’s established starting quarterback from Day One. It’s reasonable to get him reps with the rest of the offensive starters, be it fellow second-year players trying to make a leap like WR George Pickens, and new faces to the lineup like LG Isaac Seumalo and WR Allen Robinson.
While Dulac tweeted out the team’s plan, Mike Tomlin has always been one to be light on his feet. If the Steelers start with a quick three-and-out, it’s possible Pickett could trot out for a second series of work. He will likely see more action in one of the team’s two remaining preseason games, the next coming on August 19th against the Buffalo Bills.
Dulac also notes all the other quarterbacks are scheduled to play. Mitch Trubisky should come in to relieve Pickett with Mason Rudolph to follow, though it’s unclear how much action each will get. Presumably, they will both play at least one quarter. It also hints that UDFA rookie Tanner Morgan will see action. If that happens, it’ll come late in today’s contest, typical for a fourth-string quarterback. Morgan has gotten 23 reps during the team period of training camp, still a small number, but more than fourth-stringer QB Chris Oladokun had by this point last year.
Pittsburgh will kickoff against Tampa Bay at 7 PM/EST.
UPDATE (5:40 PM): Per Dulac, several of the team’s top players, including T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Patrick Peterson, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, will not play tonight.
“Even though Mike Tomlin said all healthy players, all healthy players are eligible to play, the older guys are not,” Dulac said on Steelers Nation Radio. “I was told shortly before we went on the air that none of the Pro Bowlers are going to play on defense. That’s Cam Heyward, that’s TJ Watt, that’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, that’s Patrick Peterson as well.”
UPDATE (6:08 PM): Per the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ communication department, the Steelers’ official pregame notes do not indicate any players are expected to sit out. We’ll just have to wait and see what Pittsburgh actually does once the game kicks off in less than an hour.
Per the Trib’s Joe Rutter, T.J. Watt, Larry Ogunjobi, Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tre Norwood, Damontae Kazee, and likely Keanu Neal will not play. It also appears rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. won’t play.
