Pittsburgh Steelers

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson discussed the reported heated exchange with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in Week 4:

"There's no bad blood between us at all," Johnson said. "It's just us being football players at times and we're not gonna let that stop us from achieving the goal that everybody is trying to achieve around here."

This seemingly confirms reports of a locker room confrontation between the two at halftime during the Oct. 2 loss to the New York Jets, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Trubisky was benched for the second half in favor of rookie Kenny Pickett.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin refused to answer questions about the reported dispute Tuesday.

"Our business is our business and I understand in today's climate, oftentimes there's leaks, our business getting the street," Tomlin said. "But I'm not gonna acknowledge it or confirm it or deny it in these settings."

Pickett made the team's next two starts before suffering a head injury Sunday, allowing Trubisky to return and lead the Steelers to a 20-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tomlin said Pickett will start if healthy and the quarterback is currently "on track" to play, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic.

Johnson did see a season-high 13 targets in Pickett's lone full game this year, although the wideout still only finished with five catches for 60 yards in a 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. It's been a disappointing year for the Pro Bowler, who has yet to score a touchdown and has just 33 catches for 295 yards.

After averaging 72.6 receiving yards per game in 2021, Johnson is only averaging 49.2 yards per game this year.

The 26-year-old will hope to get on the same page with whoever lines up under center in Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had no interest in confirming or denying whether there was an altercation between quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and wide receiver Diontae Johnson during halftime of the team's Week 4 game against the New York Jets.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that confrontation led to Trubisky's benching and rookie Kenny Pickett making his first appearance, and ESPN's Brooke Pryor asked a non-committal Tomlin about it:

"If it were, do you think that I would share it with you in this environment? Probably not. Our business is our business and I understand it today's climate, oftentimes there's leaks, our business getting the street. But I'm not gonna acknowledge it or confirm it or deny it in these settings. I'm just not, I ain't got enough hours of my day for it.

"The things that happen among competitors from time to time is normal business. Everyone wants to win. If it transpired, it's good. It probably means there's a couple guys that wanted to win. If it didn't transpire, it probably means that it should have because we are aggressively pursuing victory. Sometimes that's emotional."

According to Dulac, Johnson yelled at Trubisky during halftime of that game to throw to him more often. The quarterback reportedly responded by engaging in a "heated exchange," which was when Pickett was informed he would be under center for the second half.

While the Steelers lost that game 24-20, it seemed like the move to the rookie was solidified when he scored two touchdowns on the ground and started the next two contests.

Yet Pickett suffered a concussion during the Week 6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Trubisky came in and excelled while going 9-of-12 for 144 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.

His touchdown pass to Chase Claypool in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to eight, and Pittsburgh's defense stood strong on the two-point conversion after Tampa Bay scored a touchdown in the final five minutes.

That was just enough to escape with a 20-18 victory.

Perhaps Trubisky will remain under center for the upcoming game against the Miami Dolphins with Pickett's status still up in the air, and he played like someone who could be deserving of a second shot in the win over Tampa Bay.

But don't expect Tomlin to reveal what goes on in the locker room regardless of who is under center.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a concussion after exiting in the third quarter.

He went back to the locker room and was subsequently replaced by Mitchell Trubisky.

The 24-year-old was the first QB selected in the 2022 NFL draft, coming off the board with the No. 20 pick. It was the latest the first signal-caller was taken in a draft since 1997.

Pickett began the year as the backup to Trubisky but showed enough to take over the starting job as the season progressed. He entered Sunday's game with 447 passing yards, zero touchdown throws and four interceptions.

The Steelers made a dream come true when they chose Pickett. The New Jersey native spent five years playing for the Pittsburgh Panthers, emerging as the team's full-time starter at the beginning of his sophomore season.

Pickett took full advantage of his extra year of eligibility in 2021 and established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. He threw for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 67.2 percent of his passes. He led Pitt to an 11-2 record and its first ACC Championship in program history. It was the Panthers' best record since 1976.

The Steelers signed Trubisky this offseason, which gave them the option of taking a slow approach with Pickett's development. However, Trubisky's lackluster play opened the door for Pickett to see the field. While the rookie is sidelined, Pittsburgh will be hopeful Trubisky can lead its offense better this time around.

In his first five NFL seasons, the 28-year-old had 10,652 career passing yards, 64 touchdowns and 38 interceptions. The former first-round pick by the Chicago Bears spent the 2021 season with the Buffalo Bills as backup to Josh Allen.

The Steelers also have Mason Rudolph as their third-string quarterback. He'll back up Trubisky while Pickett is out.

Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt will have his return to the field delayed even further after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Brooke Pryor.

The surgery, which was done "to clean up a preseason injury that lingered into the regular season," is expected to push back Watt's return to the field by an extra week, per Schefter and Pryor.

Watt suffered a torn pec in his team's Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, although he didn't tear the tendon. While there were initial concerns the injury would be season-ending, he was able to avoid surgery and was instead given a six-week timeline to return.

Following knee surgery, Watt now may not return until after Week 9.

The Steelers placed the pass-rusher on injured reserve, but he did indicate he will return in gif form:

A healthy Watt would be huge for the Steelers, who are looking to reach the playoffs for the third straight season.

The 27-year-old is the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year after totaling an NFL-best 22.5 sacks in 2021. He added 64 tackles with 21 tackles for loss, which also led the league.

Watt has been a force on the edge since being selected in the first round of the 2017 draft, totaling 72 sacks in his first five seasons with four Pro Bowl selections and three first-team All-Pro honors. He has tallied at least 13 sacks in each of the last four years, leading the league twice in the category.

The Wisconsin product was on his way to another strong start with a sack and an interception in Week 1, but the injury slowed him down.

Watt will hope for a strong second-half of the season to help the 1-3 Steelers.

The Kenny Pickett era has officially begun in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers will start the 24-year-old at quarterback for Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills, with Pickett passing Mitch Trubisky on the team's official depth chart.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport first reported the change on Monday.

The news comes as no surprise after Pickett replaced Trubisky at halftime in the Week 4 loss to the New York Jets. The former Chicago Bears QB had completed just seven of 13 passes for 84 yards and one interception before being replaced.

Pickett completed 10 of his 13 passes for 120 yards and three interceptions, one of which came on a Hail Mary in the final seconds of the game. He also rushed for 15 yards and two scores in relief of Trubisky.

When the Steelers replaced the 28-year-old, they were down 10-6. But Pickett rejuvenated the team, which went on to score 14 unanswered points to take a 20-10 lead before the Jets scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Trubisky has been largely ineffective this season. Entering Week 4, the first-year Steeler had completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 569 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. The free-agent signing was also averaging just 5.5 yards per attempt.

That said, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had frequently called for patience with Trubisky. He even reaffirmed his belief in the veteran signal-caller following a Week 3 loss to the Browns, saying he wasn't considering starting Pickett.

Obviously, Tomlin's feelings about Trubisky changed after another disappointing performance in Week 4, and it's hard to imagine he will get another chance to start this season.

The Steelers selected Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft to be Ben Roethlisberger's heir, and now it's his time to show the franchise what he can do as its leader.

It's wise not to overreact to small sample sizes in fantasy football.

That is certainly the case with Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, who entered Sunday's 24-20 loss to the New York Jets for Mitch Trubisky and made an immediate impression with two short touchdown runs.

And then things quickly went downhill.

Pickett finished 10-of-13 for 120 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions as a passer. The first pick was a deflected deep ball that could have been caught and the third was on a Hail Mary, but the second one was far more costly with the Steelers nursing a three-point lead in the fourth quarter.

New York scored the winning touchdown on the ensuing possession.

Fantasy players may want to stash Pickett on the bench in case he lives up to expectations now that he appears to be the quarterback for Pittsburgh, but he is not someone who should be starting even after his two touchdown runs.

It's not as if Pickett was a scrambler who was making defenders miss in the open field. The scores were short runs near the goal line and the type of flukey results that likely won't be replicated on a weekly basis.

As for Pittsburgh's top two playmakers in Najee Harris and Diontae Johnson?

The quarterback change is no reason to take them out.

Yes, Johnson's day of two catches for 11 yards was disappointing, but the track record is there with a combined 2,084 receiving yards and 15 touchdown catches the last two years. Pickett will surely look his way a number of times when he is more settled into the offense, and that makes him a fantasy starter even if Sunday didn't go well.

It is also natural to expect Pittsburgh to rely more on its rushing attack with a rookie under center. That means Harris, who ran for 74 yards on 18 carries against the Jets, will still be involved in a major way.

And he should still be in starting lineups for fantasy players.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris is not happy with the media amid the team's struggles to kick off the 2022 campaign, saying criticism and questions from journalists are creating turmoil within the squad.

Harris said, per Jonathan Heitritter of Steelers Depot:

"You know what it is? I think it's just the social media and the interviewers, like you guys. You guys are just kind of just breaking us apart in a way. Because you guys keep asking questions like this. We're at a point where we're building right now, we're working on it, but you guys come in here and asking questions to all the receivers and all the guys and Mitch [Trubisky] about what's not working. That's not how you build and that's not how you get better. You guys are breaking us apart and we need to find a way where we can just stay together and come together as a team and focus on what needs to matter the most."

The post-Ben Roethlisberger era in Pittsburgh has been rough thus far.

The Steelers enter Week 4 against the New York Jets with a 1-2 record and are coming off back-to-back losses to the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns.

The Black and Gold have one of the worst offenses in the league, ranked 31st in total offense and last in time of possession. The offense also has scored just three touchdowns through the first three games of the season, and Harris blamed himself and his teammates for the issues, not offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

"The playcalling, all of that, is fine. It’s just us executing. You guys keep blaming other people. It’s us in this locker room. We all need to come together and focus on what we need to improve on," Harris told reporters.

Much of the criticism has fallen on Trubisky, who hasn't done enough to prove to the Steelers that he can be their starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.

The 28-year-old has completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 569 yards and two touchdowns against one interception in three games. He's averaging just 5.5 yards per attempt, and his performance just hasn't been good enough.

Despite Trubisky's struggles, the Steelers have not discussed replacing him with rookie Kenny Pickett, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Head coach Mike Tomlin also confirmed that he wasn't considering turning to Pickett after his team's loss to the Browns.

Tomlin has been vocal about taking a patient approach to Trubisky and the Steelers offense this season. If the team is still struggling at the midway point, though, Pickett may become an option.

Even if Pickett doesn't play this season, he's the team's future at quarterback, and it won't be much longer until he's taking snaps as the team's No. 1.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens arguably authored the best catch through three weeks of this NFL season thanks to this sensational grab against the Cleveland Browns last Thursday.

Apparently Pickens has put on a better show on six occasions, though, based on his comments to reporters Thursday.

"That's probably like seven," Pickens said Thursday, per Teresa Varley of Steelers.com.

"UGA, practice for real," Pickens added regarding his time playing college ball for Georgia. "One is on YouTube, you will probably see it. A lot of them are undiscovered.

"I made even crazier catches in college. When I caught the ball, I made crazier catches before, so I knew I caught it. It was just a fact of what the world thought about it. I saw their input on the internet."

Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette found one of the catches Pickens referenced.

He also made this clutch grab against Alabama in the national championship game last January.

Pickens will have more chances to make highlight-reel catches Sunday when the Steelers play the New York Jets.