FOX Sports' Idiot Claims Steelers "Can't Go" With Kenny Pickett; Derek Carr Absolutely Would Thrive In Pittsburgh

After the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their franchise quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger heading into the 2022 off-season, the team was bound for a place it hasn’t seen nearly two decades. Head coach, Mike Tomlin had only Mason Rudolph on the roster at quarterback, but he made it clear he wanted a veteran with situational mobility to come in and compete for the starting spot. This led to the signing of Mitch Trubisky in March of that year, with the added first draft pick used on Kenny Pickett. What ensued was the most crucial quarterback battle of Tomlin’s professional life.

Over halfway across the country, The Las Vegas Raiders were underway with their own ‘transfer of power.’ This featured a new head coach of Josh McDaniels taking over a team that had just moved into their city just two years ago. In addition, they worked hard to build the team around quarterback, Derek Carr, which included a reunion between Carr and his favorite college receiver, Davante Adams. In what was supposed to be a monster resurgence of Carr and the Raiders, the 2022 season was anything but and led to Carr playing his final game with the team against none other than the Steelers.

If we fast forward to this past week, the Raiders cut Carr to save themselves a whopping $40.4 million in combined guaranteed salary and Carr's future earnings. As a result of the news, rumors have began to fly hinting at possible landing spots, price tags, and what Carr would be looking for in his new team. With the Steelers adding a pair of quarterbacks just 11 months ago, it would seem as though they’d be staying out of the rumor mill. Jason Smith of FOX Sports Radio had an unusual take of his own:

“If the Steelers get Derek Carr, they’re playing deep into the playoffs. They can’t go into next season with Kenny Pickett. Carr is accurate, and the Steelers have two good running backs and playmakers. When things get a little tough in Pittsburgh, he’ll still be okay, because Mike Tomlin will have his back and everything will be alright. Pittsburgh is the place for Derek Carr.”

Smith went on to describe his logic:

“I know where he will fit. This is big, because I know the culture is gonna be great for him. In addition to a team that has two pretty good running backs, two really good receivers, a really good tight end, a good offensive line, and a defense that’s good every year, and is decent quarterback play away from being elite again,” he explained. “You know who else is a quarterback away? The Steelers. The Steelers is the fit for Derek Carr.”

There is a lot to unpack with this, so let’s do this logically. 

First, let’s think in terms of salary cap space and dollars. With Pickett being in the second year of his rookie contract, he’ll carry a cap hit of just under $3.2 million in 2023. Meanwhile, if we use his now void contract numbers from the Raiders, it is safe to assume Carr is looking for upwards of an average annual salary over the $30 million mark. The Steelers simply don’t have that cap space as of now. But even if they did, is the production worth the price?

While Pickett has a much smaller sample size than Carr, there is still a lot to look at from a statistical perspective. In a Steelers' offense that thrives on efficiency and keeping steady, momentous drives alive, we should look at the completion percentages to start. In his career, Carr has amassed a completion percentage of 64.6 percent. Meanwhile, Pickett holds a completion percentage of 63 percent. While this may be subjective, a difference of 1.6 percent in completion rate doesn’t necessarily warrant the need to spend 10 times as much in cap space. Taking that a step further, the offense's efficiency also considers the quarterback’s ability to maintain possession of the ball and avoid turnovers.

To address that, let’s look at their interception percentage. For reference, this number represents the percentage of times they are intercepted when attempting a pass. In his career, Carr has a 2 percent interception rate. If we want to look at the past two seasons, he posted a 2.8 interception percentage last season and 2.2 the season prior. Meanwhile, Pickett tallied 2.3 in 2022. I’d argue these numbers are fairly in line with one another.

In the 2022 season, Carr threw 14 interceptions in the 15 games he played. This equates to an average of roughly one interception per game. In the 13 games he played, Pickett threw nine interceptions, which equates to an average of .69 interceptions per game. To more effectively gauge the quarterbacks’ efficiency, we should also consider the completion percentages. 

In 2022, Carr tallied a completion percentage of 60.8 percent. Pickett posted a 63 percent completion rate. Overall with Carr, we’re looking at a career completion percentage of 64.6 percent. In his career, Carr had four seasons that he had less than a 63 percent completion rate. If the Steelers are looking for an efficient quarterback to lead the offense, that quarterback is clearly Pickett on paper.

Kenny Pickett set three Steelers' rushing records in 2022 and not a lot of fans know.

As I alluded to earlier, Tomlin was hungry for a quarterback who was situationally mobile in the offense. While this doesn’t equate to a Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray type of mobility, Tomlin understands the quarterback position has grown into a more moveable role. In college, Pickett was known for his ability to escape the pocket, find the first down sticks, and get the necessary yardage. Watching the tape from his rookie campaign, that swift yet physical mobility was no different.  

In an organization that featured a quick Kordell Stewart, physical Roethlisberger, and elusive Terry Bradshaw, Pickett set the Steelers’ franchise record in several quarterback rushing categories. 

First, he set the Steelers’ rushing attempts record for a rookie quarterback with 55 attempts. Second, he rushed for the most yards by a Steelers’ rookie quarterback with 237 yards. Third, he set the Steelers’ franchise record of the most rushing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback with three scores. Carr only had 24 rush attempts for 102 yards and no touchdowns in 2022. Both quarterbacks got sacked 27 times last season, which was Carr’s fifth-most in his career. It is safe to say that when Tomlin was looking for a mobile quarterback, he got exactly that with Pickett and won’t see that same result with Carr.

There is a myriad of different ways to dissect the skill sets between Carr and Pickett. But to say the Steelers are a “decent quarterback play away from being elite again” is blasphemy. To say that Carr could take the Steelers deep into the playoffs is even further from reality. The 2022 season showed Pickett has all the right characteristics to manage offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s offense. After failed trials with Roethlisberger, Trubisky, and Rudolph, fans finally saw glimmers of what Canada’s offense could be in 2023 with the right quarterback profile and Carr simply doesn’t fit that mold. For Steelers fans everywhere, we can chalk this hot take up to just that; a wildly hot take.

Do you think the Steelers should go after Carr?  Or do you think Pickett showed he has what it takes to get the Steelers over the playoff hump?  Let us know in the comments below!

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