Kenny Pickett will be returning for Pittsburgh’s Week 16 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, but a former Steelers quarterback is unsure if Pickett should play. Ben Roethlisberger argued that the Steelers could be better served to let Pickett sit for the rest of the season after he suffered his second concussion of the season.
“I don’t want to say ever ‘listen I’m done for the season’, but at some point, if you’re the franchise and you’re not gonna make it, you’re not going anywhere, it might be smart to shut him down,” Roethlisberger said on his podcast. “If he’s your guy of the future, which obviously he is, maybe it’s smart to do that.”
As a player who dealt with multiple injuries throughout his career, Roethlisberger never truly was out of it in a season. The Steelers technically are still in the race. However, they need some crazy things to happen in order to make the playoffs. Still, in the NFL, never say never. But Roethlisberger wonders if risking another injury, especially concussion for Pickett, is really worth it for the team. However, the experience he could gain against divisional opponents could be key, as well.
“The last two games are against division opponents you want experience playing against, but you also don’t want to get injured again,” Roethlisberger said. “He got his work in. I know there’s something to be said about getting as many reps as you can, but there’s also something to say about knocking off the cobwebs, too.”
Needless to say, Kenny Pickett is unlikely to shut down his season at any point. Roethlisberger raises some perfectly logical points, but those growth points for Pickett and the offense as a whole are important. Moreover, the Steelers are still not out of it, so Mike Tomlin will play Pickett for the experience. He is also the Steelers’ best quarterback right now as it stands, which is a sign of growth that is at least exciting for the Steelers at this juncture.