I feel like this is becoming an NFL blog…but there’s just so much news! The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a HUGE decision to cut ties with Kenny Pickett as they have traded him to interstate rival Philadelphia Eagles.
So…this is VERY un-Steelers like!
Despite using their 1st round pick on him just two seasons ago, Kenny Pickett is OUT as the Steelers quarterback as Pittsburgh traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles for next to nothing. And, to be honest, I think this might be the signal of the Steelers abandoning their old ways.
Let me just get this straight: the Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett with their 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft to replace franchise QB Ben Roethlisberger, the very man who delivered two Super Bowl titles to the Steel City in 18 seasons, but traded him for essentially a bag of peanuts after only two seasons? Are we really talking about the Steelers here?
So, if you haven’t seen the latest mind-blowing story in around the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers really just cut ties and ditched Kenny Pickett and a 4th round pick (no. 120 overall in this year’s draft) as they traded him to the Eagles for just a 3rd round pick (no. 98 overall in this year’s draft) and two 7th round picks in 2025. That’s it.
A Pennsylvania native, a University of Pittsburgh alumni, the first QB drafted off the board in 2022, and the man proclaimed to be the next great Steelers quarterback was traded after just two seasons for a handful of mid-range and low-level draft picks. Am I the only one who sees this as a VERY STRANGE trade by the Steelers.
Sure, the Steelers already signed a better option in Russell Wilson to be their starter and Kenny Pickett has not lived up to his high draft pick hype with only 25 appearances (24 starts) in two season (34 games available to play), a pedestrian 14-10 record, an okay 62.6% completion percentage, just 4,474 yards in two seasons (an average of 2,237 yards/season), only 13 touchdowns to 13 interceptions, a really bad 1-1 TD-INT ratio, no division titles, and the only playoff game the Steelers played with Pickett as the starting QB came during this past postseason…with Pickett being benched for Mason Rudolph.
In other words, Kenny Pickett has been pretty much garbage. And, yes, I know there was extenuating circumstances (aka: Matt Canada as OC) which may have contributed to Pickett’s poor play, but he really did not deserve to start this upcoming season.
But to trade him altogether and not allow him to just COMPETE with Russell Wilson for the starting QB job is INSANE! Why? It’s because this is the Steelers we’re talking about.
Everything the Steelers do is steeped in tradition and rigidity, and this dates all the way back to the 1970’s.
Seriously, ever since Pittsburgh named Terry Bradshaw (1970-82) their starting quarterback in 1970, the team has not at least given their starter three seasons to figure out the offense and NFL. Whether it was Mark Malone (191984-87), Bubby Brister (1988-90), Neil O’Donnell (1991-95), Kordell Stewart (1997-2001), and all the way up to Ben Roethlisberger (2004-2021), the Steelers starter was ALWAYS given a chance to prove himself.
There were seasons where a backup or stop-gap QB plied his trade in the starting position, but those guys were never considered to be the long-term solution at quarterback. The Steelers always had someone else waiting in the wings (almost exclusively in the draft) to take up the mantel as the “face of the franchise”.
And that was the same for Kenny Pickett…until about 5 minutes ago.
I guess the Steelers think Russell Wilson can deliver this roster back to the promise land of Super Bowl glory to put so much faith in him, but that’s beside the point for a new dawn of culture is reigning over Heinz Field. And I’m not sure it is a good one…
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