Future concussion scares now plague two young Steelers players

Two building blocks of the Pittsburgh Steelers have now been in concussion protocol multiple times early in their careers, and it’s very concerning. 

The 2022 season has been discouraging for a number of reasons. The Pittsburgh Steelers were a flat-out disappointment this season as they are set to have the worst year this franchise has seen in nearly two decades. Fans are already looking forward to a fresh start in 2023, but sadly, there are a few things we simply cannot hit the reset button on.

Even if Pittsburgh’s front office has a great offseason and gets this team back on track in a hurry, there are always going to be a few scary injury concerns in the back of our minds. Two of the most important up-and-coming players on this roster have had multiple concussion scares very early in their NFL careers, and there’s a big reason to be concerned.

Steelers TE has already had three concussions

Rising star tight end, Pat Freiermuth, suffered a concussion back in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills. This was already Freiermuth’s third concussion since entering the league last year. According to Draftsharks, the former second-round pick suffered his first concussion on November 28th of 2021 before getting another one just a few weeks later on December 19th. His latest came on October 9th of 2022.

Unfortunately, his latest was severe enough that he was unable to pass concussion protocol the following week and was forced to miss the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The fact that he already has three head injuries since entering the league is a very concerning sign. At this rate, we have to start wondering if he’s going to have a shortened playing career.

Kenny Pickett must avoid unnecessary hits

Not only do fans have to worry about whether or not Kenny Pickett can develop into the long-term franchise quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but now we also have to worry about whether or not he will be able to stay on the football field.

Though Kenny Pickett didn’t have a history of concussions during his five years in college, we suddenly need to be very worried about our quarterback sustaining head injuries moving forward. Pickett was ruled out after attempting just one pass against the Ravens in Week 14 and was placed in concussion protocol for the second time this season after it was determined that he was in fact showing symptoms.

With two concussions in less than two months’ time, this is very concerning for a player who has only started 9 NFL games (and couldn’t finish two of them). Now if Pickett does prove to be the franchise quarterback, we have to worry about potential head injuries shortening his playing career.

The head injuries to Pat Freiermuth and Kenny Pickett might be some of the worst things to come from this disheartening season from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let’s hope this was just a string of bad luck and that neither player will have issues with concussions in the future.