PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett left Sunday's game against Tampa Bay in the third quarter after entering the league's concussion protocol.
Pickett's head appeared to hit the turf after being legally pushed to the ground by Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White just after releasing a pass. Pickett lay on the Acrisure Stadium turf for several seconds before getting up on his own.
Officials motioned for Pittsburgh's training staff to tend to Pickett, who then sat back down briefly before making his way off the field. He was evaluated on the sideline then taken to the locker room with the Steelers leading 13-12.
The team ruled Pickett out for the rest of the game early in the fourth quarter.
Mitch Trubisky, who lost his starting job to Pickett at halftime of a loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 2, replaced Pickett.
Pickett, the 20th overall pick in the draft, completed 11 of 18 passes for 67 yards and his first career touchdown pass, a 6-yard flip to running back Najee Harris in the first quarter.
He wasn't the only player to leave the game with a head injury as tight end Cameron Brate he appeared to injure his head again Sunday. Brate was loaded onto a backboard and placed on a stretcher after taking a hit against Steelers linebacker Myles Jack.
Brate gave a thumbs up as he was being taken off the field and as the team announced, he “has movement in all of his extremities and continues to be evaluated further.” This is the second time Brate has dealt with a head injury as he returned Tampa's Week 4 game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a concussion. He sat out last week’s game as he went through concussion protocol.
Dolphins' Thompson (thumb) leaves game, Bridgewater returns
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) -- Skylar Thompson's expected one-week run as the Miami Dolphins' starting quarterback lasted for just over one quarter.
And the team's revolving door under center continued.
Thompson left Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings with a bloodied right thumb, marking the fourth consecutive week where the Dolphins saw their starting quarterback leave a game _ and possibly the third consecutive game where Miami's starter didn't finish.
The severity of the injury wasn't immediately known. The Dolphins said Thompson was questionable to return, and he was back on the sideline for the second half with the thumb wrapped in tape.
Thompson made his first career start because the Dolphins' top two quarterbacks had been in the NFL's concussion protocols. Tua Tagovailoa had been in the protocols since getting hurt in a game against Cincinnati on Sept. 29, and his backup, Teddy Bridgewater, was in the protocols after getting hurt on the first play of Miami's Oct. 9 game against the New York Jets.
Tagovailoa and Bridgewater both were cleared from the protocols list on Saturday.
Bridgewater checked into the game after Thompson left. Tagovailoa was inactive for the game against the Vikings, but is expected to return to the starting role for Miami's Oct. 23 prime-time game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thompson was 7 for 13 for 89 yards during Miami's first three series. He became the 25th different quarterback since Dan Marino's retirement after the 1999 season to start a game for the Dolphins.
He also was Miami's third different starter in as many weeks _ the first time that's happened to the Dolphins in nearly 12 years, after Chad Pennington, Tyler Thigpen and Chad Henne started successive weeks midway through the 2010 season. Miami also used three starters in a three-week span during the 1975 and 1980 seasons.
Tagovailoa started against Cincinnati in Week 4, leaving the game on a stretcher in a frightening scene. He was knocked out of that game four days after he was allowed to return to a game against the Buffalo Bills despite having hit the back of his head on the turf, then getting back on his feet, then wobbling. The Dolphins later said the wobble was caused by a back injury.
An unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant tasked with working the Bills game, who has since been terminated from that position following a brief investigation, found no head injury and allowed Tagovailoa to resume playing.
That decision, combined with the scene of Tagovailoa on the ground in Cincinnati days later, sparked quick and significant changes to the concussion protocols by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. The most notable addition was that an abnormality of balance and/or stability would be a symptom prohibiting a player from returning to a game.
The Dolphins also lost cornerback Nik Needham in the second quarter Sunday to an ankle injury. He was carted off for evaluation and quickly ruled out.
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