The Pittsburgh Steelers traded away QB Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday after two subpar seasons with the team and his attitude after the team signed QB Russell Wilson. Despite Pickett now playing second fiddle to Jalen Hurts as a clear backup in Philadelphia, former Steelers quarterback and current analyst Charlie Batch thinks that Pickett can still succeed in the NFL. During an appearance on the DVE Morning Show on WDVE, Batch explained why he thinks Pickett can still make it in the league.
“Absolutely do think he’s a starting quarterback and I’ve watched him in a lot of the throws the last couple years throughout training camp, and he can make those throws. Unfortunately, he was paired with arguably the worst coordinator in the history of the National Football League, and when you pair that together, this is what we’re reacting on.”
Pickett didn’t get any help from playing in Matt Canada’s scheme, as Batch noted, and he only really got one and a half games away from it before suffering an injury that eventually ended his season in 2023. He won games as Pittsburgh’s starter but threw just 13 touchdown passes in 25 games, and in general, just didn’t look all that good. A change of scheme and playing under an offensive-minded head coach in Philadelphia could certainly help things, but Pickett isn’t going to wind up getting much of a chance with Hurts entrenched as Philadelphia’s starter.
Even if Pickett does develop into a starting-caliber NFL quarterback, I think the Steelers are in a better spot right now with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in their quarterback room than they would be with Pickett and another veteran option or even Pickett and Wilson. I think Fields has more upside than Pickett, and he’s also younger despite having one more season of experience. More importantly, he won’t act like a diva like Pickett reportedly did when he found out about the Wilson signing. Pickett didn’t play well enough to expect to be given anything, and when the team signed legitimate competition and a quarterback who’s won a Super Bowl in Wilson, Pickett decided he didn’t want to compete and requested a trade.
Maybe he’ll find more success elsewhere, but it just wasn’t going to happen in Pittsburgh. Kenny Pickett has the pedigree of being a former first-round pick, albeit in a very weak quarterback class, but there was obviously something the Steelers and other teams saw that made them think he could be a good starter in this league. We’ll see if he can unlock it and revive his career in Philadelphia.
