Kenny Pickett ruled out with ankle injury after goal line attempt vs Cardinals

The Pittsburgh Steelers sent quarterback Kenny Pickett to the blue medical tent on Sunday in the second quarter versus the Atlanta Falcons. After announcing that he was questionable, Pickett is now officially out for the remainder of the game with an ankle injury. After a goal-line dive, the QB was slow to get up and required some help getting off of the field.

The Steelers inserted backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky to go for it on fourth and short, but running back Najee Harris failed to cross into the endzone. The 7-4 Steelers and 2-10 Cardinals are tied up at 3 points a piece in the second quarter.

Mitch Trubisky is heading in for Kenny Pickett. pic.twitter.com/RaSkJ22NW2

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 3, 2023

As the Pittsburgh defense hit the field against Kyler Murray and the Arizona offense, Pickett went to the locker room for further evaluation. The starting QB was 8-for-11 for 75 yards prior to the injury. Murray, meanwhile, is 5-for-10 with 46 yards passing.

Steelers defense returns Minkah Fitzpatrick

Pittsburgh finally has star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick back in the lineup. Fitzpatrick, the three-time All-Pro, has been sidelined for the past four games with a hamstring injury. The 27-year-old is tied for second on the Steelers with 54 tackles (37 solo).

“It’s one of those injuries where you can feel great and then you go out there and you run and it’s still not 110 [percent], and then you can go out there and feel great and then you might pop some scar tissue or tweak it a little bit,” Fitzpatrick said Friday. “And especially as a DB, receiver or running back, something like that, you don’t want to be out there until you’re 110 and you can play at full go. That’s one of those things you got to take your time with, be patient.”

For the first time since Week 1, the Steelers have Fitzpatrick, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and linebacker T.J. Watt on the field together.

“I think it helps our defense when we have three quality players like that,” Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “I think we’ve got to get those guys better and playing, and if we get them all together and we’re playing well and we continue with an upward trajectory, I think we’re going to like it. 

“We have outstanding players, and those guys are three of the best at their position in the league. If we have all three of them on the field together, we can only hope we play better.”