After further review, there won't be a need for a game-time decision regarding quarterback Kenny Pickett's availability for Thursday night's game against Tennessee.
Pickett, at least, has already made his decision.
"I'm playing, for sure," Pickett announced after today's walk-through practice.
Pickett sustained a rib injury late in the second quarter of last Sunday's 20-10 loss to Jacksonville.
He contemplated a return for the second half but ultimately decided against such a decision.
"He could have gone back in, you guys were all there," offensive coordinator Matt Canada said during his weekly media briefing, a session that was moved from its standard Thursday time slot to today due to the constraints of the short week. "At halftime he was down there (on the Steelers' sideline) throwing. He made a decision that he wasn't able to play at the level to help us win.
"Great faith in Kenny that if he's able to play, he'll play. If he feels like he's not able to perform and do his job he'll tell us."
Pickett warmed up with his helmet on after the teams returned from their locker rooms at halftime on Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium but never re-entered the game.
"Doing what I could to try to go back out there," he said. "I felt like I couldn't throw it the way I needed to throw it to help us to win."
Pickett said he "did as much as everybody else did" during today's walk-through, as well as some "light throwing."
Canada said the Steelers "just need to see him being able to play at full speed," in advance of the Titans' visit on Thursday night. "A lot of that will be trust in him, which we have great trust in him. If he feels like he can play and help the team …"
The challenge awaiting Pickett and the offense against Tennessee will be a familiar one.
"Execute," Pickett said. "It's not about scripting (plays), it's not about anything.
"It's about us playing and being better than we're doing right now. It's not where it needs to be. It has to get better."
The Steelers got off to another slow start on offense against Jacksonville.
Pickett remains convinced they're capable of much better, as they've established in fourth quarters this season, most recently on Oct. 22 at the Rams, and that the offense could have been better sooner against the Jaguars.
"You would have saw that in the first quarter if we just play the way we know how to play," Pickett insisted. "The plays were there, we just didn't make them. Penalties, can't do that.
"Just execution, throwing, catching running, doing what we need to do, the basics of the game and we would have been having that success in the first quarter."
