Kenny Pickett is now not a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Two years after drafting him within the first spherical, Pittsburgh traded Pickett throughout the state of Pennsylvania to the Philadelphia Eagles. Pickett could now be with the workforce he grew up rooting for, however is he actually higher off?
After the preliminary shock of the information on Friday, stories started to flow into that Pickett really requested to be traded. In line with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Pickett didn’t demand a commerce, however made it clear to the Steelers he would favor to be elsewhere after the signing of veteran quarterback Russell Wilson.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Submit-Gazette additionally provided that the Steelers have been rising sick of Pickett’s habits, confirming previous stories that he refused to decorate because the third-string quarterback behind each Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky throughout the Week 17 recreation in Seattle.
All in all, it appears each events are completely happy in regards to the divorce. And that makes this entire scenario extra surreal based mostly on the immense fanfare that accompanied Pickett beginning his NFL profession in the identical metropolis he grew to become a star in faculty. Pickett’s time with the Steelers reveals success in faculty solely goes to date and would not earn anybody something as soon as an expert.
To place it merely, Pickett guess on himself and misplaced. Pickett offered some enjoyable moments and did present some flashes of potential, however he didn’t carry out nicely sufficient to warrant appearing entitled. Pickett’s Steelers profession ends with solely 13 touchdowns to go together with 13 interceptions in 24 begins. Some could argue he wanted extra time to progress, granted first-round quarterbacks are hardly ever afforded the posh of time in as we speak’s NFL. Others really feel poor teaching, specifically former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, stunted his growth.
However no matter anybody’s opinion, if Pickett’s points have been about enjoying time, his possibilities of incomes extra have drastically decreased after the commerce. Whereas Wilson, regardless of being a shell of the participant he as soon as was with the Seahawks, nonetheless performed higher than Pickett in 2023 and would’ve seemingly received the beginning job, he wasn’t going to offer practically as huge of an impediment as Jalen Hurts will in Philadelphia.
Hurts, 25, is similar age as Pickett. Nonetheless, not like the previous Pitt star, he has already achieved NFL success – reaching the Tremendous Bowl two seasons in the past. Most significantly, Philadelphia is invested in Hurts because the face of the franchise, whereas the Steelers solely signed Wilson to a one-year deal for the veteran minimal.
There’s loads of blame to go round for why Pickett failed with the Steelers. However the motive Pickett’s NFL future is now unsure and he skilled a fall from grace in Pittsburgh is usually about his ego.
