Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is attempting to play exactly 20 days after suffering an ankle injury that prompted him to have surgery in-season to repair it. And it’s beginning to look as though that is a distinct possibility. Let’s just say that would be on the optimistic range of the projected recovery time.
Although he was still listed as a limited participant in practice yesterday, he worked with the twos instead of at the end of the line as he had the day before. “We had a good day today. We’ll see how his body responds to the work today and make plans for tomorrow accordingly”, head coach Mike Tomlin said about his progress. “I think tomorrow’s a big day”.
That tomorrow would now be today, of course, the final practice session before the Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. At this point, I think I would be surprised if he were to be ruled out for the game.
So would Gerry Dulac. In his latest chat session for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he said he would give “better than 50/50” odds that Pickett starts the game. Beyond that, he suggested that the Steelers could dress Pickett and allow Mason Rudolph to start, turning to Pickett if Rudolph struggles.
Of course that’s just the informed opinion of one reporter who saw practice and then heard Tomlin talk about it afterward. Perhaps he’s been given some more detailed information about the chances of Pickett playing as well, though he didn’t specify that.
The Steelers have dressed injured starters at quarterback for emergency purposes before. That’s how former Steeler Landry Jones “earned” one of his three career wins, when Ben Roethlisberger had to finish a game in which Jones got injured.
While it would be nice in theory if the Steelers could get their starting quarterback on the field, I’m not sure Pickett’s return would inspire much confidence in terms of change. Yes, it’s true that they’ve gone 0-2 since he’s been out, and they’re 0-5 in games he doesn’t finish due to injury, 7-2 in the ones he does.
But the numbers tell the story. Six touchdowns all season. The only game he won in which the opposing team scored 20-plus points was a game in which the defense scored two defensive touchdowns.
It honestly feels as though most fans are just ready to see Rudolph play a game. Most feel as though the season is already lost—which, statistically speaking, it is—and many believe that Rudolph hasn’t been treated altogether fairly over the years anyway.
But that means Mitch Trubisky could go from starting one week to being a healthy scratch the next. And I think it’s already pretty safe to say that he’s on thin ice in terms of his future in Pittsburgh. They are paying him too much as a backup to deliver this quality.
