Mike Tomlin rules Kenny Pickett out for Week 15, updates status of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin provided a health update on several players during his availability on Monday.
Tomlin shared that quarterback Kenny Pickett will miss Saturday’s game against the Colts, according to Mike DeFabo. Pickett had ankle surgery last Monday and missed this past Thursday’s game against the Patriots.
Mike Tomlin has yet to share a definitive timeline on when Kenny Pickett will return to action but did previously say that the injury isn’t season-ending.
The status of outside linebackers TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith appears to be up in the air. Both players are in concussion protocol, DeFabo reports.
Watt suffered a concussion when he took a knee to the head against the Patriots, while Highsmith also apparently suffered a concussion at some point during the game.
The Steelers ended up losing to the Patriots 21-18, suffering their second consecutive ugly defeat. Pittsburgh will attempt to avoid dropping a third straight game on Saturday against the Colts.
Steelers don’t have many options to replace Watt, Highsmith
Watt didn’t miss many plays after the initial hit. He was checked on the sideline, then returned to action on the opening drive. Later in the game, he played with a tinted visor. Overall, he was in on 90 percent of the Steelers defensive snaps. Watt made five tackles, three of them solo. He didn’t register a sack. Heading into week 14, Watt’s 14 sacks ranked second in the NFL. He was a sack behind Chargers’ star Khalil Mack.
Meanwhile, Highsmith suffered his injury in the first quarter. But he didn’t return to the game. The Steelers don’t have many options if Watt or Highsmith can’t play next week against the Colts. There are two other outside linebackers on the roster. One is rookie Nick Herbig, who replaced Highsmith against the Patriots. The other is Markus Golden.
Pittsburgh is currently 7-6 overall but is 1-3 in its past four games. The Steelers are tied with the Bengals for third in the AFC North — three games behind the Ravens and one game behind the Browns.
Pittsburgh closes out the season with the Colts on Saturday, followed by the Bengals, Seahawks and Ravens. They will need to finish strong to secure a playoff spot.
Injuries to key players like Kenny Pickett, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith don’t help, but the Steelers are hoping to get those guys back soon and to turn around the struggles they have experienced as of late.