All offseason, the discussion regarding the quarterback position for the Pittsburgh Steelers was that Kenny Pickett would be QB1 with competition brought in to push him.
Turns out that wasn’t the case as the Steelers took advantage of the free agency market and cost, landing future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson on a one-year, $1.21 million deal. Though the addition of Wilson was still viewed as “competition” internally, the Steelers reportedly told Pickett that Wilson would get the first crack at the starting job this offseason.
That led to Pickett requesting a trade away from the Steelers, who obliged him with a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles along with the No. 120 pick (fourth round), acquiring No. 98 (third round) in the 2024 NFL Draft, as well as two seventh-round picks in 2025.
One day later, the Steelers turned around and traded for quarterback Justin Fields to back up Wilson, completely reshaping their quarterback room.
For former NFL offensive lineman and ESPN analyst Damien Woody, Pickett ran from competition, which says more about Pickett to the outside world, such as the media and fans, than anything else.
“Bro, you didn’t want to compete with Russell Wilson? Russell Wilson, who went from the Seahawks to the Broncos and now to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a matter of a few years? And you running away from competition, that tells me more about you than anything,” Woody said while ripping into Pickett, according to video via ESPN on YouTube. “And so the Pittsburgh Steelers are probably looking at the situation like, ‘Good, I’m glad. I’m glad you expressed that to us because now we can move on to guys who wanna be not only be here but want to compete and upgrade our quarterback room.'”
Whatever transpired with Pickett, whether he felt misled, mistreated, believes he shouldn’t have had to compete and get second crack behind Wilson, whatever it may be, it’s a terrible look for the third-year quarterback.
He’s done nothing in his time in the NFL to have that sort of stance. There’s a right and a wrong way to react to competition being brought in at your position. Very clearly, Pickett reacted very poorly to it, and now he’s in an even worse situation from a playing-time perspective, stuck behind star quarterback Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia.
When the Steelers signed Wilson, it was pretty clear that he would be the starter for a number of reasons: experience, skill set, production last season in a tough situation, and the fact that it would be easier to start Wilson than Pickett, avoiding a situation where Pickett would be looking over his shoulder constantly waiting for the hook.
But Pickett didn’t see it that way and was fed up, requesting the move.
As The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly said over the weekend on 93.7 The Fan regarding Pickett, it’s a black mark on his reputation in Pittsburgh that will stick. Really, it likely undid all of the great things he did for Pitt. He frowned in the face of adversity, took his ball and went home.
Really rough look from a quarterback who has aspirations of being a franchise guy.
In the end, the Steelers move on and appear better off for it. That might have been the best thing for all parties involved in the end.
