The Kenny Pickett era is officially over in the Steel City. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded the quarterback to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, marking the end of Pickett’s two-year tenure with the franchise. So where did it all go wrong?
We know Pickett wasn’t performing as QB1, which is probably part of the reason the Steelers went out and signed Russell Wilson earlier this week. So why did the youngster ask for a trade? There’s a valid reason, according to insider Tom Pelissero:
“How did this go sideways? Mike Tomlin had promised Kenny Pickett he’d get a chance to compete. Pickett learned about the Russell Wilson signing on social media Sunday night. When they spoke the next morning, Tomlin told Pickett that Wilson was in pole position and would get the first reps. So Pickett asked for a trade. Now he’s an Eagle.”
Kenny Pickett trade request made sense
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Totally understandable from Pickett’s point of view. While he’s not exactly going to be competing for the QB1 job in Philly with Jalen Hurts, you can get why the former Pitt standout wasn’t happy. He was the main man for the Steelers, and all of a sudden isn’t. That would leave a sour taste in anyone’s mouth.
Again, it’s unlikely Kenny Pickett gets a ton of playing time with the Birds, but it’s still a fresh start. Last season, the signal-caller played in 12 games, throwing for just 2,070 yards and six touchdowns against four interceptions. Pickett only completed 62 percent of his passes.
Overall in two NFL seasons, Pickett has played 25 games and completed 62.6 percent of his throws to go along with 13 TDs and 13 picks. By no means is that spectacular, especially when the Steelers were hoping to replace Ben Roethlisberger with someone who could keep them a contender.
In Wilson, Pittsburgh gets an experienced QB who did show improvements last year in Denver. We’ll see if he fares better than Pickett did in the Black and Gold.