Joe Sargent/Getty Images Kenny Pickett #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers just before being sacked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Devin White on October 16, 2022.
The Pittsburgh Steelers came away with an upset win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday, but starting left guard Kevin Dotson didn’t have his best day at the office. Dotson committed three penalties — two holding penalties and a false start — and was also responsible for the sack that left rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett with a concussion. In fact, he allowed the sack despite being flagged for holding on the play, which wiped out a long-gainer on the part of wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
Here is the hit on Pickett that forced him out of game #Steelers
Kevin Dotson: ‘Getting Death Threats For Penalties is Crazy’
Dotson subsequently took to Twitter to apologize for his play against the Buccaneers, which prompted what he said were a series of death threats.
“Getting death threats for some penalties is crazy for a game that has no bearing on his life. YOUR (sic) A FAN not an owner and you don’t even put in any work to feel any way about it,” he tweeted on Sunday evening.
Getting death threats for some penalties is crazy 😂😂 for a game that has no bearing on your life .YOUR A FAN not a owner and you don’t even put any work to feel any type of way about it🤣 #HereWeGo
On Monday he addressed the death threats with reporters.
“At the end of the day, they’ve never done what I’ve done,” Dotson said of his critics on social media, via Chris Halicke of DK Pittsburgh Sports. “They’ll never be able to do it. I try not to come at them as fans because I’ve been a fan my whole life. But I’ve never felt like I had the right to tell someone that they should die. That’s just wild,” he added, making reference to how he was a Steelers fan before the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft (No. 135 overall).
“Then people come behind them and say, ‘It was bad they gave you death threats, but we’re fans and we should be able to say what we want.’ You can feel what you want to feel, but to say you can give someone a death threat is just wild,” he concluded.
Kevin Dotson to Kenny Pickett: ‘I Told Him Sorry’
The third-year offensive guard went on to say that he has apologized to Kenny Pickett — who remains in concussion protocol — for giving up the sack that led to his quarterback’s injury.
“I gave up a sack,” Dotson said as part of an exchange with reporters captured by Ian Smith, photojournalist for KDKA-TV. “It happens. I don’t know why it went so crazy. Maybe because it was Kenny Pickett. I gave up a sack. I can’t deny that, I won’t deny that. It just so happens that something happened afterward. I told him sorry and stuff like that. He forgave me so I don’t care what everyone else thinks.”
Steelers guard Kevin Dotson reacts to death threats he received after giving up the sack that injured QB Kenny Pickett. @KDKA @KDKASports
Dotson also disputed the notion that he had a terrible game, aside from the penalties.
“I messed up and had a bad day with penalties. Overall I had a good game,” he insisted, a statement that some Steelers observers would dispute, having tweeted about his subpar play during the game.
For what it’s worth, Dotson hasn’t had a particularly good season, as least as far as Pro Football Focus (PFF) is concerned. PFF has Dotson with a 57.5 overall grade thus far in 2022, ranking him 48th among 75 NFL guards.
Former Steelers LB Delontae Scott Works out for Panthers
In other news, former Steelers outside linebacker Delontae Scott has had a tryout with the Carolina Panthers, this according to the NFL’s daily personnel notice.
The Steelers terminated Scott’s contract on Sept. 27, the same day that the Steelers signed veteran punter Jordan Berry to what turned out to be a short-live stay on the practice squad.
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Steelers’ Kevin Dotson Speaks out on Death Threats, Kenny Pickett Sack