Kenny Pickett did not end his Pittsburgh Steelers tenure on the most amicable terms, ultimately requesting a trade. The events that led up to the trade request are less clear, but there are multiple versions of the story. Neither the Steelers nor Pickett have divulged much, nor should they, but various reporters endeavored to fill the gaps.
Local Steelers reporters painted in him a particularly negative light, indicating he responded very poorly to the Russell Wilson signing. Some claim the Steelers told him Wilson would start, while others claim they told him he would compete.
Ultimately, the perception emerged that Pickett ran from competition in requesting a trade. There is more to it than that, but that is the long-lasting impression, whether it was ego or fragile confidence. Those who know him best dispute those characterizations—not that you would expect anything different.
“I would say the majority of those narratives were pushed by people. And they are 100 percent BS”, Pickett’s private quarterback coach, Tony Racioppi, told NJ Advance Media. “I would put his leadership ability against anybody out there”.
That doesn’t explain why he asked the Steelers to trade him, of course. Pickett had already lost his starting job at the end of the 2023 season and knew he would have to compete. He just thought that Mason Rudolph was going to be his challenger, not Russell Wilson. At this point, we’ll never know if the Steelers told him he was not competing. People are just going to believe which version they prefer to believe.
The Steelers selected Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft after he graduated with school records at Pitt. He spent many years working inside the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, so they knew quite a bit about him. Reportedly, that is partly why they did not anticipate his reaction to signing Wilson and led to changes of heart. While he posted a winning record, the offense really struggled, to the point that the Steelers felt they needed other options.
Racioppi said that he and Pickett understand the long game of life in the NFL and how it has changed. “Especially with the quarterbacks now in the NFL, there’s a long road if you do it right”, he said. No doubt he is referring to the likes of Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield, who got second chances as starters.
Right now, Kenny Pickett is stuck in an entrenched reserve position in Philadelphia behind Jalen Hurts. He knows he is not going to play unless there is an injury, but evidently he felt the same way about staying with the Steelers. But he and Racioppi saw a clearer path on the trade market than by staying put.
“If you get a second opportunity and take advantage of it, you can turn [that] into another ten years, eight years, whatever it’s going to be”, he said regarding Pickett’s future. And part of doing it “right” is fighting the narrative that he left Pittsburgh as a petulant and bad teammate.
