Let's go ahead and add injury to insult. After being humiliated in the first half against the Houston Texans, the Pittsburgh Steelers now lost one of their better players. During the third quarter of their Week 4 contest, quarterback Kenny Pickett exited the contest with an injury to his left knee and would not return.
Pickett was able to limp off the field with a bit of assistance from the training staff, but this did not look good. On a fourth-down play near the end of the third quarter, Pickett tried to elude a rusher but was sacked. In the process, his knee got trapped underneath him and he went down clutching his left knee.
While we don't know the extent of the injury at this point in time, it didn't look pretty. The fact that Pickett was able to make his way off the field was an encouraging sign, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't tear anything either.
#Steelers QB Kenny Pickett sustained a knee injury and is OUT for the rest of today’s game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) October 1, 2023
Though Pickett has not had a great start to his second season, this would be a significant setback. Pickett was drafted to be the franchise quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they really need to figure out what they have in him.
Pickett has shown flashes, and he's coming off arguably the best game of his NFL career in Week 3 on Sunday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders.
In Week 1, the Steelers lost two of their best players due to soft tissue injuries. Diontae Johnson landed on IR with a hamstring injury, while All-Pro Cameron Heyward will miss roughly half the season with a torn groin.
This is just the latest injury added to the Steelers, and one that they can ill-afford. In today's NFL, you need your young starting quarterback to get as many reps to prove himself as possible. Let's hope that this is nothing serious at all and that he can return to the field soon. Mitch Trubisky entered the game in his absence.