With Pittsburgh’s first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just days away, the long-anticipated wait will soon be over to see the Steelers back on the field. One of the most heavily talked about topics this offseason for Pittsburgh is QB Kenny Pickett and the leap he is capable of making in his second season. There has been reports coming out of OTAs, minicamp, and training camp practices that Pickett has a better understanding of the offense and looks more in command compared to his rookie season, feeling more comfortable managing all aspects that come with the position.
Pickett will likely be this team’s starting quarterback against Tampa Bay and is locked in to start for the entire 2023 season. However, one question to consider is how much Pickett should play in the preseason opener against the Buccaneers.
There is no denying that Pickett can benefit from live reps against an opposing team in preseason play, being able to develop more of a chemistry with his weapons while commanding the offense for a few drives to prepare when Pittsburgh faces the San Francisco 49ers in Week One of the regular season.
Still, the risk of injury is always a factor in preseason play as notable players go down every year in exhibition action before the regular season begins with various degrees of injuries. Pittsburgh has solid depth at the position with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph behind Pickett, but with Pickett missing multiple games last season due to concussions, protecting your young franchise quarterback from potential injury is something the Steelers need to consider.
For context, Pickett was the third quarterback to play in the preseason opener last season against the Seattle Seahawks. Trubisky saw 13 offensive snaps as the starter with Rudolph seeing 23 snaps while Pickett led the way with 32 snaps. Trubisky played two offensive series while Rudolph played four and Pickett played five.
Being the starter, should head coach Mike Tomlin play Pickett against the Buccaneers? While the team may want to protect Pickett from potential injury risk, he also needs live reps against an opposing team to develop a chemistry with the offense in a real game setting. Therefore, we should see Pickett get around two or three offensive series on Friday night, and likely see more snaps in the weeks to follow.
I would suspect Pickett will get a whole half of action in either Week Two or Week Three of the preseason as a “tune up” before heading into regular season play. Pickett could perhaps see the full first half of both games, but Pittsburgh may choose to mitigate the injury risk by limiting snaps in at least one contest. It’s an interesting topic to consider regarding the need to get your young quarterback ready versus protect him from injury. However, from what we know about Tomlin and the need for Pickett to feel prepared, I expect him to let the young kid play and play a lot this preseason.
