The Pittsburgh Steelers had a rough afternoon in Week 4. Not only did they get blown out by the Houston Texans 30-6, but they lost yet another key member of their lineup to an injury. This time, it was starting quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Pickett was injured in the third quarter while being sacked by Jonathan Greenard. He immediately began grabbing at his knee, in visible pain. Pickett needed some help getting back to the bench but could make it to the blue medical tent on his own, walking very gingerly.
After a few minutes of evaluation, the second-year signal caller was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Mitchell Trubisky took over and the same ineffectiveness that has plagued the offense thus far this season remained.
Dr. Jesse Morse, a sports medicine physician, offered some insight into the kind of injury that Pickett may have suffered. While it is always a hypothesis since only the people who are running the tests will know what is actually going on, his opinion is an educated one.
Morse believes that Pickett could be dealing with an MCL sprain given where the injury looked to occur. If the injury was bad enough, there could be some meniscus damage but his ACL should be intact.
Heading into a bye, there is certainly a chance that Pickett won’t miss any games. But, it will depend on the severity of the injury. In Morse’s opinion, and injury like the one Pickett looks to have suffered can take anywhere from 10 days to three weeks before he is feeling better/
Pickett wasn’t the only injury that the Steelers suffered on Sunday. Tight end Pat Freiermuth had a hamstring injury in the third quarter and left tackle Dan Moore Jr. was on the sidelines after the team’s first drive of the game.
Head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t mention anything in detail but said that changes would be coming to the team after the ugly loss. He could have just been foreshadowing the adjustments that the injuries will lead to or something bigger, like a coaching change. Fans have been clamoring for offensive coordinator Matt Canada to get fired and could be getting their wish.
