Mike Tomlin isn’t hiding how important 2024 is for QB Kenny Pickett. Essentially, it’s make-or-break. Though he may enter training camp as a starter, he’s not guaranteed to stay there. And if Pickett wants to show the Pittsburgh Steelers he’s the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be, this is the time to do it.
Speaking to reporters during his year-end press conference, Tomlin laid out expectations for Pickett.
“We met this morning and we acknowledged that,” when asked if Pickett needed to quickly show progress. “It is a huge year for him. But I’m also excited about just watching him wear that component of it because I know how he’s wired and built. And I’m excited about watching him attack it.”
And listening to Tomlin’s words, there was emphasis on “huge,” noting it as a “huuuuuuge” year for Pickett.
Pickett didn’t make the jump from Year One to Year Two as expected following a good training camp and red-hot preseason. Instead, he and the offense struggled throughout the first half of the year. Lacking a running game did him no favors and Pickett continued making plays in the clutch, highlighted by a long touchdown pass to WR George Pickens to beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week Five, but his production was still light.
With the hopes of jump-starting the offense, the Steelers fired OC Matt Canada following their Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Pickett had the best game of his career the following week in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals but injured his ankle the following game against the Arizona Cardinals, knocking him out for the next month. As QB Mason Rudolph got hot and put points on the board, the team stuck with him the rest of the way, the sixth-year starting the Steelers’ final four games of the year, including their playoff loss to Buffalo.
While Tomlin believes the team’s starting 2024 quarterback is on the roster, he didn’t fully commit to Pickett being that guy. Expressing a desire for Rudolph, a pending free agent, to return, it could shape up as a camp battle if Rudolph re-signs with the team.
Through two years of his career, Pickett has a winning record at 14-10 but has completed less than 63 percent of his passes with the same number of touchdowns as interceptions, 13 each. He’ll have to show a big jump in play this summer to serve as the Steelers’ starter and hold off whatever competition awaits him when he reports to Latrobe for training camp.
