PITTSBURGH — If Kenny Pickett looks a little different on the field against the Raiders on Christmas Eve, it won’t be how he approaches playing the game.
Pickett was cleared from the concussion protocol Monday, clearing the way for him to start Saturday’s game at Acrisure Stadium less than two weeks after suffering his second concussion in less than two months. But unlike the last time he returned from a concussion, Pickett was encouraged to take extra precautions.
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Not regarding his aggressive style of play, but more with what he puts on his head.
Pickett was urged to change the type of helmet he wears. He went from perhaps the league’s most popular helmet — the Riddell Speed Flex — to the Riddell Tru-Fit Axiom, a cutting-edge helmet that is made of a combination of flex panels that interact and work together with the internal liners and face protection system to improve impact response.
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The helmet is also 3D fit to the player’s head, so a customized, factory-installed performance liner system can offer a personalized fit with pads of various thicknesses, shapes and contours.
“The doctors suggested it,” Pickett said, who wore it last week during practice as well. “They had really good results with it so I trust what they say 100 percent — I want to be safe.”
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth and guard James Daniels also wear Axiom, but players are slow to commit to it because — simply put by one member of the organization — “they are ugly.”
“I think it’s comfortable. And, you know, it has the speed flex in the back of my helmet, which is where (hitting) the ground has caused my concussions, not really getting hit from the front,” Pickett said. “Slamming my head off the ground is what has been an issue. So (this helmet) has the flex in the back, which I think will help me out.”
Pickett did have to work through some issues with his new headgear.
The helmet was designed during the COVID-19 period, which didn’t allow for a lot of feedback. It was discovered that even though there is no top portion of the facemask to allow for flexion of the helmet, a visor would help stabilize the overall helmet. However, the visor turned out to have too large of a gap between the plastic and the helmet, and it also impaired vision.
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For a quarterback, the impaired vision was obviously a dealbreaker.
“I don’t know who designed this one,” Pickett said. “It was a little too wide where a fist could literally go through it. So I don’t want to get punched in the face on Saturday. I was like, I will wear a visor and be good to go. Getting the facemask right was the biggest concern. Just being able to see clearly and not having the two bars.”
With the equipment alteration under control, Pickett will focus on picking up where he left off after getting concussed by Baltimore linebacker Roquan Smith five plays into the game against the Ravens two weeks ago.
One thing Pickett won’t do is alter the way he plays. He has rushed 44 times in 10 games and his scrambling ability has been a big part of the Steelers’ offensive success. The only real designed run plays have been quarterback sneaks.
“It’s something I think I’ve done a pretty good job of this year,” Pickett said. “As you said, it’s not coming in the pocket. It’s just it comes with the position. It comes with playing football and it’s going to happen.”
Pickett’s latest concussion came on a missed blocking assignment by the offensive line. Pickett tried to escape to his right but was twisted to the ground by Smith and Pickett’s head banged off the turf.
“He is who he is,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said of Pickett. “You can’t ask him to (be less aggressive). We can’t let those things happen. The injury occurred on a dropback when we had a missed assignment. I don’t think there is a big difference there. We don’t want to take unnecessary risks or anything like that.”
Even though Pickett hadn’t put up stellar numbers, he showed improvement and growth every week. He will take a streak of 129 consecutive pass attempts without an interception into Saturday’s game. He had eight interceptions in the first five games he played. Pickett has thrown for just fewer than 1,800 yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions.
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Since the bye, Pickett has posted his four highest single-game passer ratings.
“I think he is trending in the right direction since the bye,” Canada said. “Taking care of the football and doing a good job with that. Understanding the offense and his role in it and getting the ball to the right places. I think he is continuing to ascend the way we want him to, we have to hope that keeps going. We need to help him do that with the other 10 guys on the field.”
The Steelers are still alive for the playoffs despite being 6-8, but they need to win out and also get help from multiple other teams. The Steelers have a less than 1 percent chance of making the playoffs, per The Athletic’s NFL postseason projection model.
Despite the continued development of Pickett being a key component to the rest of the season, he’s focused more on winning than anything else.
“Winning,” Pickett said. “I hope I’ve proven that I continue to try the way I was trying to, but the bottom line is winning. So we got to find a way to get it done these next three weeks.”
(Top photo: Charles LeClaire / USA TODAY)
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