Kenny Pickett had never experienced what he went through Sunday in the Steelers’ 20-18 win over the Bucs.
Pickett, the Steelers’ first-round pick and now starting quarterback, was hit by Bus linebacker Devin White during the third quarter of the game. He left the game, and was diagnosed with a concussion.
But, just three days later, Pickett was on the practice field, and on Friday was cleared completely from the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“I remember everything,” he said Friday afternoon following the team’s finial practice of the week. “I’m not going to get into details of it. I went through it with the doctors and the medical staff. People fly in here to go to these doctors so I know they're the best in the country, and I feel great with where I'm at going into Sunday.
Pickett says that this was his first experience going through concussion protocol. And that it was frustrating to not be on the field as the Steelers pulled out a much needed victory.
“You obviously want to be out there,” he said. “You put a lot of work in throughout the week. You want to go out there and finish the game.
“I trusted what the doctors were telling me. That's what they were advising me to do. That's what they wanted me to do. So I followed their lead and now I'm good to go this week. Maybe if I finished that game, I wouldn't have felt this great throughout this week of practice.”
The concussion comes at a strange time for the league. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a well documented concussion three weeks ago, in which he was allegedly rushed back to the field too soon, and then suffered a hard blow to the head, causing his body to go into the fencing position.
That hit occurred during a national, prime time game as Miami faced the Dolphins. Now, Tagovailoa is set to return to the field, and will do so against Pickett and the Steelers Sunday night.
So it’s safe to assume that some extra attention will be paid to the concussions experienced by the two young passers.
“I’m sure (it will), naturally, because of what happened,” Pickett said. “Around the league, people are looking at it more, but I think obviously every case is its own. It's different. I trust the doctors. I feel great with where I'm at.”
Pickett was able to go through practice fully this week. He took reps as the team’s starting quarterback, even though his backup, Mitch Trubisky, played well in the win over Tampa.
But Pickett says that part of his recovery was contingent on him going through practice and physical exertion, and that all results came back positive through the week.
“I just kind of kept myself doing what I was doing to see if I felt anything different, or how I was feeling out there playing, and kind of what (doctors) recommended,” he said. “And I felt great going through my routine and playing. If I didn't, obviously I wouldn't have been out there communicating with the doctor, so I felt good, though.”
There have been four previous cases this season of NFL quarterbacks being concussed and leaving a game. In all four situations, that quarterback did not start the following week.
The league continues to emphasize recovery from brain injuries, particularly after the debacle in Miami. But Pickett maintains that he’s good to go, will start the game, and that it was never really much in doubt.
“(It) was kind of understood as I was going through (that I would start),” he said. “And if, obviously, I wasn't feeling good or if it wasn't going the way we were expecting it to go, then I probably wouldn't have played this week and we would have pushed it back.
“But I didn't have any setbacks. I felt great going through everything, so I'm confident and excited for Sunday night.”