Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw certainly made some headlines Sunday following the Steelers’ 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Heaping praise on second-year Steelers signal caller Kenny Pickett, Bradshaw stated on the FOX post-game show that Pickett is the “perfect quarterback” for the current Steelers team.
Bradshaw, who played for the Steelers from 1970-82, doubled down on that statement Monday during an appearance on FOX Sports Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
“He’s got everything that I want in a quarterback,” Bradshaw said to Cowherd, according to audio via The Herd’s Hour 3 podcast.
Bradshaw did have the caveat that maybe Pickett — at 6-3, 217 pounds with 8 1/2-inch hands — doesn’t have the ideal size for the position. But he was quick to praise Pickett’s toughness, ability to see things and process quickly with his brain, and make all the throws necessary, which was again on display in the fourth quarter against the Rams.
Cowherd pushed back a little bit on Bradshaw regarding Pickett, stating that the second-year quarterback doesn’t have a huge arm, either. But Bradshaw shut down that talk quickly.
“You don’t need a huge arm if you’ve got a huge brain. You see things faster, go to the receivers quicker because your brain’s fast and you understand things. That, to me, is critical,” Bradshaw said to Cowherd, according to audio via The Herd. “A lot of people don’t like him. That’s fine. I’ll take that sucker all day long.”
Coming out of the University of Pittsburgh, where he set numerous passing records and found himself as a Heisman Trophy finalist after the 2021 season, leading Pitt to an ACC championship, there were a lot of question marks surrounding Pickett, from his hand size and general lack of arm strength, to his struggles in college until breaking out in his final year when he was 23 at the collegiate level.
None of that matters now, at least for Bradshaw. Time and time again, Pickett has shown up in big spots for the Steelers, leading six fourth quarter comeback and game-winning drives, playing fast and free in critical moments. He did that on Sunday, too, leading the Steelers on two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, completing 7-of-7 passing attempts for 138 yards in the final 15 minutes of action, dragging the Steelers’ offense out of its malaise.
He’s hung in the pocket and taken big shots from pass rushers to make clutch throws, and he has the ability to process quickly, get the ball out to the right player and watch the offense function. Granted, there are still significant struggles in that area of his game lately, as that showed up in the first half against the Rams as Los Angeles disguised some blitzes well and really threw Pickett off his game.
But when the moment is biggest, Pickett is coming through in the clutch.
That’s what has Bradshaw excited most and having him take “that sucker” every day of the week as the Steelers’ quarterback. Chances are, Bradshaw isn’t alone with that thought process, either.
