Report: Pittsburgh Steelers offer major update on Kenny Pickett ahead of game vs. Miami Dolphins

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Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers offered a major update on starting quarterback Kenny Pickett ahead of their Sunday night game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7.

Pickett, who missed part of the team’s Week 6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reportedly has been cleared from concussion protocol and is on track to play against the Dolphins.

Last week, Mitch Trubisky, who opened the season as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, closed out the team’s Week 6 win against the Buccaneers. However, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has made it clear that the rookie Pickett would start in Week 7 if he were cleared.

The No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Pickett has appeared in three games for the Steelers this season, making two starts. His first career start against the Buffalo Bills did not go as planned, as Pittsburgh was dominated, losing 38-3 in the game.

Still, Pickett showed some flashes of why the team took him in the first round, completing 34 of his 52 passes for 327 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown and threw one interception in that game.

Last week against the Buccaneers, Pickett completed 11 of his 18 pass attempts for 67 yards and a touchdown before exiting. The rookie has shown some impressive rushing ability as well this season, scoring two touchdowns in Week 4 against the New York Jets.

The Dolphins are in need of a bounce-back performance in Week 7 after dropping three straight games. The Dolphins have been crushed by injuries at the quarterback position to Tua Tagovailoa, Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson.

Tagovailoa, who suffered a scary head injury in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals, has finally been cleared from concussion protocol and is expected to start in Week 7 against Pittsburgh.

The Dolphins won their first three games of the 2022 season with Tagovailoa under center. While the Steelers did pull off a big upset in Week 6, they have not been impressive on offense this season, averaging just 16.2 points per game.

It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh’s offense gets a boost from Pickett being in the starting lineup in Week 7.

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Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.