ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Kenny Pickett “preferred to move on” from the Steelers after the team traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles, and NFL insider Aditi Kinkhabwala is adding context to that report. She reported that Pickett was told by the Steelers that Wilson would start, not giving him a chance to compete for the starting job.
She said Pickett wasn’t running away from competing with Wilson, and instead was “explicitly told by the Steelers Wilson would start, reneging on the pledge he’d been given that after two years of chaos, he’d finally be put in position to succeed.”
In a follow-up tweet, she said an offensive-minded head coach in the AFC told her that he’d “take Kenny Pickett in a second and win with him.” The Steelers, obviously, sent Pickett to the Eagles, but Kinkhabwala wondered if the Steelers could’ve sent Pickett somewhere he could start.
There are two sides to the coin here. If the Steelers truly believed in Pickett, they probably would’ve kept him around. But it doesn’t behoove the Steelers to trade Pickett inside the conference. They obviously believed in his talent and abilities at one point, hence why they spent the No. 20 pick on him in 2022. So it doesn’t necessarily make a ton of sense to send him somewhere where he can potentially start and develop for a conference foe they’ll see more than once every four years.
Add that Gerry Dulac reported that Pickett’s attitude was part of the reason why he got traded, and it doesn’t sound like a situation where the Steelers felt it was necessary to do right by Pickett. There also isn’t really a clear place across the league where he would be the unquestioned No. 1 starter. AFC teams with quarterback questions are likely going to look to find their starter through the draft, like the New England Patriots, and I’m just not really sure there was a ton of demand for Pickett.
In Philadelphia, he’ll learn under an offensive-minded head coach in Nick Sirianni, but he won’t have any path to starting with Jalen Hurts firmly entrenched as the starter. I don’t necessarily know if Kinkhabwala is suggesting the Steelers should’ve sent Pickett someone where he could start, but if the Steelers weren’t going to get better value from a team planning to make him its starter, then it’s kind of a stupid move from a football and organizational perspective to send another team a potential starting quarterback you once believed in.
Now, Pickett will work in the NFC behind Hurts with two years left on his contract, and presumably, the Eagles will decline his fifth-year option after next season. The Steelers will now look for a veteran or through the draft for a backup quarterback option, and Pickett will try to revive his career in Philadelphia.
