Steelers news: Larry Ogunjobi misses practice, Kenny Pickett enters good company, and more

Larry Ogunjobi #99 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 16, 2022 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Larry Ogunjobi #99 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 16, 2022 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Pittsburgh will need some outside help to have a shot at the playoffs. Here’s the latest Steelers news and injury updates in Week 17. 

Steelers fans received an early gift on Christmas Eve when Pittsburgh mounted a game-winning touchdown drive against the Raiders on the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. The recent passing of Franco Harris was the most important topic surrounding this team over the holiday week, and rightfully so.

Now head coach Mike Tomlin is pressing ahead with his eyes on the prize as he looks to preserve his streak of never having a losing-record season. Sadly, Pittsburgh is going to need lots of outside help to get into the tournament. Here’s the latest Steelers news you need to know in Week 17.

Steelers news

To begin the week, Pittsburgh had a plethora of players listed on their official injury report. Fortunately, men were deemed absent for personal reasons, as some were attending the funeral of Franco Harris.

After Thursday, things are looking a bit more encouraging. Larry Ogunjobi (toe) and Tre Norwood (hamstring) remained sidelined. If they don’t log a practice today, they may not be able to go against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

The biggest absence for Pittsburgh last week was Terrell Edmunds. He returned to the field as a full participant in practice on Thursday. Myles Jack was limited with a groin injury that has hampered his usage over the past few weeks.

More Steelers news

There were mixed reviews following the performance of Kenny Pickett against the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Eve, but fans can all agree that he mounted the ideal comeback drive to help win them the game. Now the rookie first-round pick has entered some terrific company in this late stretch of the season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Pickett has earned the third-highest grade among all NFL quarterbacks since Week 12. His 84.0 overall grade during this span slots just behind Joe Burrow (90.9) and Trevor Lawrence (88.1). Though the box score numbers haven’t been anything to write home about, it’s worth noting that PFF believes that Pickett has been playing his best football so far.

NFL news

Pittsburgh fans were excited to see former Steelers QB Josh Dobbs make his first NFL start against the Dallas Cowboys last night. However, the biggest quarterback news around the NFL right now has us worried.

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa recently entered concussion protocol for the third time in the 2022 season. This is a dreadful sign for a player who was having the best season of his three-year career so far.

This might help the Patriots’ chances of beating the Dolphins this week (which is the first thing that needs to happen for Pittsburgh to keep their playoff hopes alive), but nobody was rooting for this. The latest Tua concussion has many talking about a possible early retirement. Emmanuel Acho recently compared him to All-Pro LB Luke Kuechly, who retired at age 28 after three concussions.

Under the circumstances, it’s not surprising to see talks about shutting Tagovailoa down for the season, and at this rate, he probably won’t clear protocol before the post-season. Teddy Bridgewater is expected to start in his absence.

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