Two years after being a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft, former Pitt Panthers’ star quarterback Kenny Pickett is no longer in the Steel City.
Instead, he’s in the green and white of his childhood favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles after a rather stunning offseason trade, which Pickett himself ultimately wanted.
Though the Steelers completely overhauled the quarterback room this offseason, bringing in Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen and saying goodbye to Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, the loss of Pickett will be felt for the Steelers throughout the 2024 season.
At least according to CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan.
Sullivan named Pickett’s departure the biggest loss of the offseason for the Black and Gold, not the loss of wide receiver Diontae Johnson, cornerback Patrick Peterson or linebacker Kwon Alexander.
“The Steelers had some of the biggest quarterback turnover throughout the NFL,” Sullivan writes regarding Pickett’s departure. “On top of bringing in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, Pittsburgh also traded former first-round pick Kenny Pickett — and a fourth-rounder — to the Eagles in exchange for a third-round selection (which ended up being Payton Wilson) and two 2025 seventh-round picks.
“Pickett will now serve as the backup to Jalen Hurts, while Wilson and Fields will duke it out for the starting job this summer.”
Losing Pickett after just two seasons was truly stunning, especially after it seemed pretty obvious that there was going to be a quarterback competition between Pickett and Wilson following the Steelers signing Wilson to a one-year, $1.21 million deal in free agency.
Ultimately, Pickett felt misled by the Steelers’ franchise in regards to what was going to happen at the quarterback position, with Wilson getting the “pole position” entering the offseason, largely sliding Pickett into the No. 2 role.
Just a few hours after officially introducing Wilson as a Steeler, GM Omar Khan and the Steelers traded Pickett to the Eagles. The Steelers received pick No. 98, near the end of the third round, in the 2024 NFL Draft and two 2025 seventh-round picks while the Eagles received Pickett and pick No. 120 overall (fourth round) of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The No. 98 overall pick turned out to be linebacker Payton Wilson, strengthening the Steelers’ defense in the process, while No. 120 overall was traded by the Eagles to Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick. The Dolphins ultimately took Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright.
In 25 games with the Steelers, Pickett threw for 4,474 yards and 13 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.
Ultimately, it was a rocky tenure in Pittsburgh for the former Heisman Trophy finalist.
Pickett certainly showed flashes as a rookie in 2022, leading the Steelers to a 7-2 record in the second half of the season to finish 9-8 on the year, though the Steelers missed the playoffs. Entering Year 2 in 2023, Pickett had a great training camp and preseason, but then struggled out of the gates and never figured it out under offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who was fired ahead of the Steelers’ Week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pickett had the best game of his young career in that Week 12 game against the Bengals, but then he suffered an ankle injury the following week against the Arizona Cardinals, which required tightrope surgery and put him on the bench for a few weeks. In that window, Rudolph was given a shot after Trubisky floundered.
Rudolph took off late in the season and won the job from Pickett, leading the Steelers to the playoffs, which likely upset Pickett.
That then led to a rough entrance into the offseason that ultimately blew up quickly after the Steelers landed Wilson. Pickett felt it was time to move on after just two seasons, and now he’s getting a chance to reset in Philadelphia, this time as the backup to MVP candidate Jalen Hurts.
