Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett certainly believes he didn’t do anything wrong in how he handled the end of the 2023 season, allegedly declining to be the backup quarterback to Mason Rudolph in Seattle in Week 17 and then requesting a trade from the Steelers after the signing of Russell Wilson last week.
In his introductory press conference Monday as a new member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Pickett stated his confidence in how he handled things. But on the outside, there is plenty of criticism of Pickett and how he has been perceived to have handled this situation, running from competition in the end.
It’s something he’ll have to carry with him from a reputation standpoint for quite awhile in his NFL career.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers’ Insider Gerry Dulac, Pickett made this mess all by himself. During an appearance on 102.5 WDVE Monday morning, Dulac wouldn’t go so far as to blame Pickett for everything, but he made clear a lot of this situation was Pickett’s doing.
“I said last week on this show, one thing we’re gonna find out about Kenny Pickett is he’s either gonna be a flower who wilts or he’s gonna be a fighter who stands in there and battles. And you saw what happened,” Dulac said, according to audio via 102.5 WDVE. “Mason Rudolph was crapped on twice and maybe three times. And he stood in there and showed what it is to be a professional. Nobody got screwed over more than Mason Rudolph after Ben [Roethlisberger] retired and yet he came back, and he showed that he was a true professional.
“This is what Kenny Pickett chose, and this is why he’s out of here. And so, I’m not sitting here like entirely gonna blame Kenny Pickett, but this sense that he had that he should be the starter when he’s 14-10 as a starter and all, he did it to himself. He did it to himself.”
Competition was always coming for Pickett this offseason. Head coach Mike Tomlin, team owner Art Rooney II and GM Omar Khan stated that multiple times publicly. But when that competition ended up being future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson, Pickett didn’t take too kindly to it and wanted out.
As Dulac stated, Pickett was either going to be a flower that wilts or a fighter who stands in there and battles. He chose being the flower that wilts, not even attempting to get into competition with Wilson, instead deciding it was time to move on for good from the Steel City.
He made this mess himself, period. The sense of entitlement over the last few months from a quarterback who has done absolutely nothing in the NFL was rather shocking. Maybe that stems from his days at Pitt where he truly was “the man.” The NFL is a different animal though, and Pickett never quite made the improvement needed.
The Steelers are in this situation because of how the 2023 season transpired at the quarterback position. Seeing Rudolph come off the bench cold after nearly two full seasons and light up opposing defenses in the same scheme that Pickett struggled in was rather telling, even if there was a different play-caller.
Kenny Pickett didn’t handle the situation well at all and decide for flight rather than fight. In the end, the Steelers might be better off, and it appears that Pickett put himself in an even tougher position in his career now as a backup to star quarterback Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia.
