Ankle Injury Puts Kenny Pickett Status into Question for Week 14

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett will not return to his team’s Week 13 game against the Arizona Cardinals, and his status for the team’s Week 14 game against the New England Patriots is in question.

Pickett suffered an injury on the team’s penultimate offensive play of the first half. He dove toward the end zone when he was tackled from behind by Arizona defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett with a walking boot on his right ankle during the game against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 3, 2023. – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Pickett had entered the game dealing with a minor injury to his right ankle and had been wearing a brace on that ankle in pregame warmups. Now, he has a walking boot on that ankle, despite speculation from video of the hit that he might’ve injured his left ankle.

The new injury now brings into question his availability for next week, as the Steelers go into a short week after their Week 13 contests, with the Patriots coming to town on a short week for a Thursday Night Football contest.

Mitch Trubisky replaced Pickett, as he has in both of the other times that Pickett left a game due to injury this season. He suffered a knee injury against the Houston Texans in Week 4 and a rib injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8. Both of those times, Pickett was able to return to action the following week, but both of those were normal-length weeks.

Trubisky fumbled on the first possession of the second half, his third turnover of the season. Pickett has had just four, despite playing in every game.