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Rapoport provides that the Steelers is not going to place Pickett on injured reserve. Doing so would require at the very least a four-week absence and, for all intents and functions, shut him down for the rest of the marketing campaign. Pickett will miss Pittsburgh’s upcoming Thursday night time recreation at a minimal, Rapoport notes, so Mitch Trubisky will deal with beginning duties towards the Patriots.
Pickett’s process will tackle the lingering subject which he has been coping with all through the season. Rapoport notes the 2022 first-rounder’s surgical procedure might be geared toward repairing a excessive ankle damage, so it could come as no shock if he had been to overlook multiple recreation in consequence. The Steelers might nonetheless discover themselves in rivalry for an AFC playoff spot within the closing weeks of the season, nonetheless, so Pickett’s restoration might be a significant storyline.
Pittsburgh sits at 7-5 after Sunday’s upset loss towards the Cardinals. Offensive manufacturing was a problem in that recreation, one thing which has been the case for a lot of the yr. The Steelers’ lack of enchancment on that aspect of the ball led to the firing of Matt Canada, and an uptick in effectivity gave the impression to be on the horizon based mostly on the staff’s first outing after the choice. Questions might be raised about their skill to persistently produce with Trubisky on the helm in the intervening time, although.
The veteran has been in Pittsburgh since 2022, the yr through which he ceded the beginning position to Pickett midseason. Pittsburgh has had to make use of Trubisky on a variety of events since then, owing to Pickett’s damage troubles. The 25-year-old’s newest ailment will interrupt his first full season as a starter, one through which he has roughly duplicated his statistics from his rookie marketing campaign. Whereas that has restricted the Steelers’ output within the passing recreation, they’ve leaned on their dashing assault in latest weeks.
Pittsburgh rushed for 130 yards in Week 13, utilizing the tandem of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren within the backfield. That helped increase the staff’s common to 115 yards per recreation on the bottom, which ranks 14th within the NFL (in comparison with thirtieth of their passing output). A ground-heavy method would come as little shock with Trubisky now atop the depth chart because the Steelers look to proceed their postseason push with a shorthanded offense.
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