The Pittsburgh Steelers traded former first-round pick Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles after just two seasons with the team, and Pickett will now look to revive his career as a backup to Jalen Hurts. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni talked about Pickett today and his excitement for him while reiterating he’s the backup and will support Hurts.
“I’m really excited about the things he can do. I’m excited that we have a piece in place there. But his job is to be the backup, and his job is to support Jalen and help him in any way that he can and be ready to play if he needs to play,” Sirianni said at the NFC Coaches Breakfast at the NFL Owners Meetings, via Brooks Kubena of The Athletic.
Pickett didn’t handle the idea of being a backup well in Pittsburgh, and it’s clear as day he’s going to be the backup in Philadelphia, so he’s going to have to figure out to deal with it. He went from a place where he would’ve at least had a chance, albeit a very small one, to win the starting job in Pittsburgh to a place where his head coach is openly saying his job is to be the backup and support the starter.
The Steelers needed to improve at quarterback after the position so clearly held them back last season, and although I didn’t think they would go out and do it, bringing in Russell Wilson was a good move. While Wilson would’ve and should’ve gotten the first chance to start, it probably would’ve been good for Pickett to work with him, even if it was behind him, and try to develop further after two years where he just didn’t look like a good quarterback for the Steelers. Instead, he asked to leave, and is now stuck backing up a better, younger quarterback in Hurts.
Maybe working behind Hurts will benefit Pickett, but there’s no clear path to starting unless Hurts suffers an injury. Pickett will have at least two more years under contract (I’d highly, highly doubt that Philadelphia picks up his fifth-year option after next season, and I would say there’s no chance in hell but only a Sith deals in absolutes), and I’d guess the best-case scenario for him is to get the chance to start a few games and try to prove himself as a starter again after the next two years when he hits the market. It’s like a Mitch Trubisky situation, except Trubisky started parts of four seasons in Chicago, while Pickett only got two in Pittsburgh before requesting a trade.
Pickett’s not a bad backup quarterback to have, as he’s started 24 games in his career and can at least run an offense. But I don’t know if any quarterback has seen his career trajectory take such a dive within the last calendar year, as this time last year, we were talking about Pickett as a potential franchise quarterback for the Steelers. Honestly, Justin Fields might have the next best argument, but he at least is backing up a 35-year-old Wilson and not a quarterback two months younger who also has two more years of experience like Pickett is with Hurts.
Sirianni should be excited that he has a stable option as his backup quarterback, but he made it clear that there’s really no intention of putting Pickett on the field unless it’s a necessity. Hopefully, he’ll embrace the role and become the best quarterback he can be and maybe revive his career in Philadelphia, but it’s not going to be easy.
