PITTSBURGH — Kenny Pickett is expected to start at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, offensive coordinator Matt Canada reiterated on Thursday, and Canada said the team will not need to adjust the game plan in order to accommodate his injured knee.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that whether Pickett plays or not would be determined by the quantity and quality of his practice time this week. But Pickett said after practice on Wednesday that he feels good enough to play, and Canada reiterated that stance on Thursday.
Canada also said that the team is focused on getting Pickett ready more than it is trying to work backup Mitch Trubisky into the first team this week.
“We’re managing them both, doing what we’ve got to do to get them ready to play, but Kenny’s full playing and nothing’s changed with Kenny’s preparation,” Canada said. “He feels good about where he’s at. We’ll make sure that Mitch is ready to go if it has to go that way.”
Pickett suffered a knee bruise in the third quarter of Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans. He took practice in a bulky knee brace on Wednesday and was officially listed as a limited participant in practice. Pickett said he is able to play with the brace if he feels that he needs to, but that won’t be decided until later in the week.
“I took what I needed to take in terms of what they were telling me,” Pickett said. “You know, according to what the doctors and trainers say, the reps will probably go as they say.”
The Steelers have two more practice sessions, one on Thursday and one on Friday before they will make their full injury report available on Friday afternoon.
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