For the second time this season, the Steelers lost their rookie quarterback midway through a game. Kenny Pickett exited Pittsburgh’s loss to the Ravens during the first quarter and was quickly ruled out by the team while in concussion protocol.

The same situation took place in mid-October, when the first-rounder was knocked out of the Steelers’ Week 6 win over the Buccaneers. That, in turn, came not long after the team had officially committed to him as their starting signal-caller moving forward, after a brief and underwhelming start to the campaign by free agent signing Mitch Trubisky.

It was once again the veteran who took over for the remainder of this game. Trubisky helped the Steelers move the ball throughout the contest, but his performance was crippled by three interceptions made deep in Ravens territory. The former No. 2 overall pick finished the game completing 22 of 30 passes for 276 yards and one touchdown in addition to the trio of picks.

Trubisky has one season remaining on the deal he signed this offseason, but the timing of Pickett’s ascension to the starting role has led to a widespread expectation that the one-time Pro Bowler will find himself elsewhere in 2023. The same has reportedly been predicted in the case of the team’s third-string QB, Mason Rudolph. The latter was not a serious contender for the No. 1 spot during Pittsburgh’s summer competition, and has yet to see the field in 2022.

Today’s loss drops the Steelers to 5-8, and stops the momentum the team had built up by winning three of four games after their bye week entering the contest. Attention will turn to Pickett’s recovery from a second major head injury suffered in less than one season, and Trubisky’s performance in Week 15 against the Panthers if he is required to start.

Kenny Pickett‘s second career start was headed in a much better direction than his first one before he had to exit the game. The rookie quarterback took a hard hit in the third quarter of the Steelers’ game against the Buccaneers, and suffered a concussion. The team quickly announced that he was out for the remainder of the game. 

The first-rounder replaced veteran Mitch Trubisky in the second half of Pittsburgh’s Week 4 game. To little surprise, that was followed by head coach Mike Tomlin naming him the starter moving forward. Pickett’s first full game ended in a 38-3 loss to the Bills, in which he threw for 327 yards and an interception.

That, coupled with a plethora of major injuries in the secondary, led to tempered expectations at best for today’s showing. However, Pickett went 11-of-18 for 67 yards and his first career touchdown pass prior to the injury. That gave the team a legitimate chance to pull of the upset at the time Trubisky came into the game. His benching had come after underwhelming performances, though, so his level of play came as a surprise as well.

Trubisky completed 9 of 12 passes, totaling 144 yards and one touchdown in relief. The score came on what ended up being the game-sealing drive, as the Steelers completed the 20-18 upset. That ended Pittsburgh’s losing streak, and could ease concerns about the former No. 2 overall pick resuming the starter’s role if doing so becomes necessary.

Pickett’s injury comes in the wake of new concussion protocols being agreed to and implemented. While much of the focus has been placed on erring on the side of caution with respect to removing players from games on the suspicion of head trauma, recovery timelines will not doubt be watched closely as well. Pickett’s status will be worth monitoring in the build-up to Pittsburgh’s game next Sunday against Miami.

OCTOBER 4: In a press conference today, Tomlin confirmed that Pickett will start against the Bills (video link). When making the announcement, he reiterated that Trubisky’s level of play is only partially responsible for the change. The veteran will operate as the backup, and Tomlin revealed that he was considering starting Trubisky this week, given his time in Buffalo last year, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor tweets.

OCTOBER 3: The Steelers began the Kenny Pickett era before they were planning to, bumping the first-round pick into their lineup in Week 4. Unsurprisingly, the rookie will keep their QB1 reins going forward.

Pickett is expected to stick as Pittsburgh’s starter over Mitch Trubisky, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Pickett replaced Trubisky in the second half of the Steelers’ Week 4 loss to the Jets. While the No. 20 overall pick threw three interceptions — the last on a final-play heave — he provided a bit of a spark for the team’s offense.

Teams generally do not turn back once a first-round quarterback enters the lineup, so it would have been more surprising if the Steelers restored Trubisky as their starter. The Steelers have been operating under the assumption Pickett will take over, Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post notes.

A former No. 2 overall pick, Trubisky struggled during his short time as Pittsburgh’s QB. The ex-Bears starter and Bills backup averaged an NFL-low 5.6 yards per attempt. Saying as much postgame, Pickett was more willing to make downfield throws. The 1-3 Steelers’ season now centers around the forthcoming extended look at Ben Roethlisberger heir apparent.

Mike Tomlin told Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer he wanted Trubisky to start throughout the season, providing a true redshirt year for Pickett. While that was a borderline-stunning report, given how Trubisky had fared through two games, a subsequent offering indicated the Steelers hoped to give Pickett until at least midseason to develop from the sideline. The Steelers are set for a grueling Bills-Buccaneers-Dolphins-Eagles stretch — ahead of a Week 9 bye — so Pickett will certainly be tested in his first batch of starts.

Pickett completed 10 of 13 passes for 120 yards and those three INTs against the Jets. After playing five seasons at Pitt (four as a starter), the 24-year-old rookie profiled as a player who would not require a full-season NFL redshirt. He performed well during the preseason, but the Steelers still exercised caution here. Signed to a two-year deal worth $14MM (plus incentives), Trubisky offered a shaky bridge that left the Steelers little choice but to try Pickett early.

Trubisky’s contract called for nearly $13MM in incentives, but that tiered package did not begin until the sixth-year quarterback hit the 60% start threshold. If Pickett stays healthy, Monday’s news would make Trubisky collecting any incentive dough unlikely. The Steelers can release Trubisky, who also received interest from the Giants this offseason, and incur less than $3MM in dead money next year. Mason Rudolph‘s contract expires at season’s end, leaving the team with work to do on its QB2 front in the months ahead. That will be a back-burner issue for the franchise, however, with Pickett’s development now front and center.

Given the team’s offensive struggles to begin the season, questions have been asked with increasing volume regarding the Steelers’ quarterback situation. At halftime during today’s game against the Jets, the Steelers benched starter Mitch Trubisky in favor of first-round rookie Kenny Pickett. 

Trubisky signed a two-year deal this offseason to operate (at least temporarily) as Pittsburgh’s starter to begin the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. In the build-up to the draft, however, it was widely known that a long-term move was coming. Pittsburgh made the Heisman finalist the only first-round quarterback of his class, leading to questions about when he would see the field.

Those were intensified when Trubisky struggled out of the gate. Despite an average of just 5.5 yards per attempt, and only a pair of touchdown passes through the first three games, it was reported that the team was intending on keeping him as the No. 1 throughout the 2022 season. It came as little surprise, then, that the former Bears first-rounder got the nod again for today’s contest.

By halftime, however, Trubisky had managed 84 scoreless yards and an interception, and the Steelers trailed 10-6. Going against the perceived notion that Pickett wouldn’t take over until at least midseason, head coach Mike Tomlin decided to make the swap. The effect on the team’s offense turned out to be substantial.

The unit scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half, and got the lead until the game’s final seconds. Overall, Pickett finished 10-of-13 passing, with 120 yards through the air and a pair of rushing touchdowns. Each of his other three passes were, however, intercepted, contributing greatly to the end result, a 24-20 loss.

After the game, Tomlin said, “I thought we needed a spark… We didn’t do much in the first half, not enough offensively, and I thought he could provide a spark for us” (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network).

He added that no decision has been made regarding Pittsburgh’s Week 5 starter. Given the performance of each of the team’s signal-callers, the way the team ultimately leans will be worth watching in the coming days.

Although the Steelers had their mini-bye window to consider an early Mitch Trubisky-to-Kenny Pickett transition, no change is expected this week. Trubisky is set to start against the Jets, despite mounting scrutiny.

A report that surfaced just before the Steelers’ Week 3 loss in Cleveland indicated Mike Tomlin wanted to make this a true redshirt year for Pickett, which would have Trubisky starting throughout the season. That timeline may be shortening. The Steelers are now seen as wanting to give Trubisky until around the midseason point, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.

The patience here can be attributed to Pickett. Early reports have the franchise seeking a long runway for its Ben Roethlisberger heir apparent, and Trubisky operated as Pittsburgh’s first-stringer throughout the offseason. Even though Trubisky was signed to a two-year, $14MM deal five weeks before the Steelers made Pickett the 20th overall pick, the team added the veteran to give its then-TBD rookie QB sufficient time to develop, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes.

That said, some in the organization may not be as patient. Some calls within the building have come for a quicker Pickett promotion, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (video link). A “strong push” exists in the building to pass the baton to Pickett, per Florio. Considering how Trubisky has played, this is understandable.

An organizational split regarding Pickett’s timeline would be an interesting plotline, though Tomlin has certainly built up enough capital to make the call. Setting a timetable of this sort is one of the last new challenges for the 16th-year HC, who had Roethlisberger installed as his starter since being hired in 2007. Tomlin has praised Trubisky, but calls for a Pickett bump will only become louder if the former No. 2 overall pick’s mediocre play persists. Pittsburgh ranks 31st in total offense, with Trubisky averaging only 5.5 yards per attempt — last among qualified starters. Steelers receivers have shown frustration with Trubisky this season; both Chase Claypool and George Pickens remain under 80 yards for the year.

In a division with established quarterbacks — Jacoby Brissett is not that, but the Browns’ stopgap starter outplayed Trubisky in Week 3 — Pittsburgh is in danger of falling too far behind early. Following their Week 4 Jets matchup, the Steelers’ schedule becomes much more difficult. From Weeks 5-8, the Steelers will face the Bills, Buccaneers, Dolphins and Eagles. Three of those games are away from home.

That schedule stretch would bring a stiff challenge for a rookie quarterback, but as of now, Pickett’s ceiling is higher than Trubisky’s. It seems clear Tomlin would prefer to avoid throwing the Pitt product into the fire during the upcoming gauntlet, which precedes a Week 9 bye. But if Trubisky continues to restrict the Steelers’ offense, it could put the accomplished HC to a decision on whether to change his designed timetable.