Pittsburgh Steelers Rookie Quarterback Heads to Locker Room

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without their starting passer for the remainder of their AFC North slugfest with the Baltimore Ravens. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett was taken out of the game in the first quarter with concussion symptoms and will not return.

QB Kenny Pickett is in the concussion protocol. He has been ruled OUT for the remainder of today’s game.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 11, 2022

Pickett was whipped around and slammed to the turf on the Steelers' second offensive series of the game. He had yet to complete a pass and took a seven-yard sack before his exit.

Pickett was replaced in the lineup by Mitch Trubisky, who shouldn't prove to be a meaningful downgrade. Trubisky has arguably outplayed Pickett in his limited action this year, bettering him in passer rating (80.1 to 75.1) and interception rate (1.6% to 2.7%) through 12 games this season. He shouldn't hurt the Steelers' chances of notching a fifth-straight win over the Ravens.

Pickett joined the Steelers as their 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has been an underwhelming addition so far, totalling 1643 net passing yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions across his nine appearances this year.