On October 2, 2022, Kenny Pickett made his first appearance in the regular season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was in Week 4 against the New York Jets. Mitch Trubisky was playing again, and fans were getting restless. Chants of Kenny echoed throughout the stadium. The fan base wanted to see its prodigal son get some run (me included). Everyone had seen enough of Mitch to know he couldn’t lead this offense.
In his first play in the NFL, Pickett threw a deep ball into triple coverage intended for Chase Claypool. It ultimately turned into an interception. He did have some rushing touchdowns later in the game, but the Steelers ultimately lost to the Jets 24-20. We didn’t know it then, but this play and this game ultimately became a microcosm of Pickett’s short time in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers announced on last Saturday morning that they have agreed to a trade for Pickett, the No. 20 overall pick two years ago, along with a 2024 fourth-round selection (No. 120 overall), in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick (No. 98 overall) and a pair of 2025 seventh-round picks.
Pickett is not entirely at fault here. Blame must be aimed at the Steelers organization as well. There needed to be a concise plan to transition into a new era after Ben Roethlisberger retired. This could be traced back to 2018.
In 2018, the Steelers selected QB Mason Rudolph with their third-round selection, which was met with disdain by Roethlisberger. The team didn’t use another pick on a quarterback until Roethlisberger officially retired following a wild-card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on January 16, 2022. Though Roethlisberger returned from season-ending elbow surgery in 2019 for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, his days were numbered.
There is some irony here. Rudolph, arguably the most hated man in Pittsburgh for years, won the fan base back due to his excellent play and replaced Pickett as the starter in the last few games of the season. He ultimately led the Steelers to a playoff berth. Pickett, who ultimately was benched, was forced to face the music as he had to endure the Steelers faithful chant Rudolph’s name, the third-string backup, something he experienced only a few years ago when fans ultimately chanted his name—a sign of how things can rapidly change in the NFL.
The retention of Matt Canada was also a disaster for the Steelers organization. It was clear to everyone with eyes that his offense was not NFL-caliber. It was also clear that it couldn’t put its QBs in the best position to succeed. Many opponents of the Steelers said multiple times that the offense was easy to predict. Even the fans could predict what plays would be called at times; it was not a great look for the OC and the organization, which, for some weird reason, stood firmly by him.
For the record, I think Canada stunted Pickett’s progression. I believe he CAN be a capable QB in this league, but he needs a lot of time in a productive scheme to build his confidence. I don’t think the Steelers wanted to wait and see.
Pickett made many mistakes and didn’t do enough to improve upon them, and that’s on him. He didn’t act professionally when benched for Rudolph in the Seahawks game, and he didn’t act professionally when the Russell Wilson trade was announced. That’s also on him. However, almost all of the young QBs in the league would struggle in that offense. It made a first-ballot HOFer look bad.
The Pickett era was an absolute failure across the board. While the compensation is low, wiping the slate clean while Pickett still has some value left was the right move. The Steelers get a small return on their otherwise miserable first-round investment and officially move into the Russell Wilson/Justin Fields era in Pittsburgh.
