The Steelers have had plenty of internal controversy this season but quarterback Kenny Pickett was quick to clear the air on the latest round of rumors.
Pittsburgh has won two consecutive games with Mason Rudolph starting at quarterback as Pickett continues to recover from an ankle injury. The 2022 first-round pick did not dress for Sunday's victory over the Seahawks and some reports claimed it was because he "refused" to back up Rudolph.
Pickett addressed the media on Tuesday to plainly state that those reports were false. The Sporting News takes a closer look at the situation below.
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Kenny Pickett denies rumors he refused to back up Mason Rudolph
"I saw reports out there that I felt like were attacking my character and how I am as a person, not even getting into a player standpoint of it," Pickett began his Tuesday media availability, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
"There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being a two. If I was healthy enough to play and the trainers and coaches felt like I looked good enough to play, I was going to start and play. If they believed that I was not, which they believed I was not, was not going to dress and suit up for the game," Pickett said.
"So whoever reported that, I don't know where it started, it's kind of crazy what people will write and put out there to try to prove their point or help their standpoint or their careers and what you guys do. But disappointed to see that without any proof or basis of it."
Pickett, who said he will back up Rudolph in the regular-season finale, was inactive for the Steelers' win over the Seahawks on Sunday with an ankle injury. Even with Pickett's health trending in the right direction for a must-win Week 18 contest against the Ravens, head coach Mike Tomlin announced that he is riding the hot hand and sticking with Rudolph as the starter.
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“Kenny’s availability is less in question this week. I anticipate him being available to practice. That being said, we’re going to leave the ball in Mason Rudolph's hands,” Tomlin said on Monday.
“He's done a good job and we've done a good job in the most recent two weeks. We've taken care of the ball. He's taken care of the ball. We’ve scored points at a rate at which we hadn't done to this point this year. And with the urgency of the moment and because of those reasons, we're going to leave the ball in his hands.”
Rudolph has been efficient over his two starts, completing 68.6 percent of his passes while throwing for 564 yards and two touchdowns with zero turnovers. He has led Pittsburgh's offense to over 30 points in back-to-back weeks — a scoring total the team had yet to reach this season until Rudolph took over.
The Steelers will need a win over the Ravens in Week 18 to have a chance at clinching one of the final AFC Wild Card spots, and Tomlin will lean on Rudolph to take Pittsburgh back to the postseason after missing out last year.
You can find the Steelers' Week 18 playoff-clinching scenarios below.
Steelers playoff scenarios for Week 18
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth with:
- A win and Bills loss OR
- A win and Jaguars loss or tie OR
- A win and Texans-Colts tie OR
- A tie, Jaguars loss and Texans-Colts does not end in a tie OR
- Jaguars loss, Broncos win and Texans-Colts does not end in a tie