Steelers Rumors: Kenny Pickett Could Miss 4 Weeks After Surgery on Ankle Injury

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett's ankle could keep him out for most of the remainder of this season.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, there is a "sense" within the Steelers that Pickett could miss four weeks.

Pickett, 25, has had a tough season on the injury front, requiring surgery on Dec. 4 after suffering a high sprain to his right ankle during the team's 24-10 loss against the Arizona Cardinals.

This timeframe is notable because NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported earlier this week that Pickett isn't expected to be placed on injured reserve. An IR stint would require him to miss at least four games.

Rapoport also noted the team is "holding out hope" their second-year quarterback can return for the regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens on either Jan. 6 or 7.

Pickett also left two games early in the 2023 season due to both a knee bruise and an injury to his ribs, and missed time in 2022 with concussions.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters in early December that he didn't think Pickett was injury prone.

"He was managing that ankle prior to yesterday," he said. "I think it was listed on the injury report every day last week and so it got aggravated, and we just did what was necessary in terms of addressing it. I don't know that we're viewing it as something that's chronic, particularly with something like an ankle injury, and so we're just dealing with this on a case-by-case basis as we sit here right now."

It's nonetheless becoming a concern.

When healthy, Pickett has thrown for 2,070 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions, completing 62 percent of his passes while taking 23 sacks. Those numbers aren't great—especially given the hype surrounding the second-year quarterback over the summer regarding his development—but the midseason firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada appeared to revitalize him somewhat.

Any injuries to Pickett means that Mitchell Trubisky returns to the starting lineup. He's struggled in his three appearances this season, throwing for 273 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while completing just 59.2 percent of his passes and taking two sacks.

The Steelers are currently the No. 5 seed in the AFC with a 7-5 record going into Thursday's game against the New England Patriots. They also have games against the Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks before the Week 18 showdown with Baltimore.