While the Pittsburgh Steelers debuted one of their new quarterbacks Friday night in their preseason opener against the Houston Texans — Justin Fields started the game and saw three series — 250 miles to the south with the team from the other side of the Commonwealth, Kenny Pickett made his preseason debut with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pickett, who was traded to the Eagles in March after requesting a trade from the Steelers, had a strong showing in his debut, completing 14-of-22 passes for 89 yards. He led a touchdown drive in the Eagles’ matchup at M&T Bank Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens, a familiar opponent.
The former Pittsburgh Panthers star and Heisman Trophy finalist started for the Eagles and played into the second half, seeing action in seven drives for the Eagles with starting quarterback Jalen Hurts not playing in the preseason opener.
On the touchdown drive, which gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead, Pickett completed a 7-yard pass on a rollout to rookie running back Will Shipley to cap a 15-play, 75-yard drive for Philadelphia.
Here is the touchdown from Pickett to Shipley on the move.
Pickett’s longest pass play was a 10-yard completion to wide receiver John Ross. He was sacked twice on the night, one for a loss of 10 yards and one for a loss of 5 yards and finished the night with an 87.1 quarterback rating.
Prior to the solid showing in the preseason opener, there were concerns that Pickett wouldn’t be able to beat out Tanner McKee for the No. 2 job behind Hurts. But Friday in Baltimore, Pickett took advantage of the playing time. He directed a scoring drive, avoided turnovers and had the Eagles in the lead before turning things over to McKee in the second half.
The Eagles acquired Pickett from the Steelers for the No. 98 pick 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 in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Steelers ultimately selected linebacker Payton Wilson with the No. 98 overall pick.
