For Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Kenny Pickett, Wednesday was a typical day in the life of a professional football player during the offseason. Pickett gave a radio interview for 93.7 The Fan at Bowser Chevrolet in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. This was hardly a strange event for Pickett, but when he was done with the interview he discovered that while he was on the air, his car had been stolen from the dealership.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers' Kenny Pickett goes down during a Buffalo game
Steelers' Kenny Pickett Nearly Gave 2023 Secrets Away
One of the prized secrets of an NFL team is its playbook, and no player has more information in his playbook than the starting quarterback. I'm sure the possibility of anything happening to his 2023 Genesis SUV was far from Pickett's mind when he pulled up for his interview, which explains why he would have left his treasured playbook in the car.
While it is widely known that Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada has limitations regarding the plays he calls, it still wouldn't bode well for the upcoming campaign for the playbook to end up online or sold to the highest bidder. In a world of ridiculously fast-paced online movement, the world would have discovered everything about the 2023 Steelers' plans, but thankfully it never came to that.
AP Photo
Steelers Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett
Steelers Are Grateful As Incident Is Wrapped Up Quickly
The interview only lasted one hour, but that was plenty of time for 60-year-old Christopher Carter to enter the dealership and then leave in Pickett's vehicle. Carter had gotten to the dealership around one in the afternoon, but it wasn't until close to 3:30 p.m. that he was seen on surveillance leaving the lot in Pickett's SUV. While Carter may have managed to drive the car off the lot and even make it back to his home, the police were able to quickly match him to the crime thanks to his registration when he entered the lot, pictures from the security cameras and then let the information lead them right to his door.
Carter's next-door neighbor, Ashley Antonucci, didn't take very long to sense that something was going on. According to Antonucci, Carter was acting strange when he got home, and it didn't help that she didn't recognize the vehicle he was driving when he pulled up to his home. Ths fact that Carter had been involved in the auto theft was certainly surprising to Antonucci, stating that they had a friendship, would speak and she would even make dinner for him on occasion.
“Definitely wasn’t acting like himself. He’s a standup guy, wonderful neighbor. I bring him dinner,”Antonucci said.
Steelers.com
Steelers' quarterback Kenny Pickett speaks to the press
It didn't take long for the police to arrive at Carter's home and without incident apprehended him, checked the vehicle over - noticing the new, mild damage - and then made sure that Pickett's playbook was safe, which it was. Considering the way this situation ended (Carter is due back in court in early June), the dealership, the police and Pickett were all very relieved that nothing got violent, the car wasn't wrecked, no one was hurt and his treasured playbook was back in his possession.
Steelers' quarterbacks don't need another auto-related incident to deal with in the offseason, so the entire fanbase can breathe now that everything has been wrapped up. Hopefully, when Pickett does interviews in the future he'll decide to ask for a ride instead, or at least not bring his playbook along.
Are you surprised Pickett left the playbook in his car at all? Let us know what you think about this wild story in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
