While he tried to give it a go, Steelers starting quarterback Kenny Pickett will not play in Saturday’s must-win game against the Bengals, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin informed the media Thursday.
With Pickett out, Mason Rudolph will get his first start since the 2021 season. Rudolph, 28, has a 6-5-1 career record as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback that includes a 5-3 record during his rookie season back in 2019.
Pickett returned to practice this week, less than three weeks after he underwent surgery on his ankle in an attempt to speed up the recovery process. While he was cleared to practice on a limited basis, Pickett was presumably not cleared by the team’s medical staff to play Saturday.
Pickett sustained the injury just before halftime of Pittsburgh’s Week 13 game against the Cardinals. The Steelers ultimately lost that game before dropping their next two games against the Patriots and Colts. Pittsburgh, now 7-7, will need to beat Cincinnati in order to remain in the AFC’s playoff race.
The Steelers are a different team with Pickett in the lineup, so his absence will certainly hurt. Pittsburgh is 12-4 in Pickett’s last 16 starts that saw him finish the game. The Steelers are 7-3 in games Pickett has finished this season and 0-4 otherwise.
With Pickett out, it’ll be up to Rudolph to best a Bengals defense that has forced two turnovers in each of Cincinnati’s past two…
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