Steelers' Patrick Peterson Endorsed Who He Would Love To See At Quarterback In Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers' controversy is heating up as free agency draws near. This has every fan, analyst, and player saying who they want to see lead the team in 2024. The city is divided with half wanting Kenny Pickett and half wanting Mason Rudolph. Some players, like defensive captain Cameron Heyward, take the high road and don't offer any real endorsement. Others, like Diontate Johnson, make it clear that they have a preference. 

Now the Steelers' hybrid cornerback, Patrick Peterson, and his cousin and podcast co-host Bryant McFadden, have weighed in on the debate. On their show All Things Covered, McFadden, who also played cornerback for the Steelers in the early 2000s, asked Peterson who he thinks should be under center.   

Steelers' Patrick Peterson Gives His Endorsement To Kenny Pickett

Peterson has only been with the Steelers for one season, but he feels like he knows both quarterbacks well. He has been in the league for 13 seasons and has seen a lot of really good and bad quarterbacking. 

Likely headed to the NFL Hall of Fame, Peterson was selected fifth overall by the Arizona Cardinals where he played with Carson Palmer and Kyler Murray. In 2021, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings where he got to watch the dynamic duo of Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson. He joined the Steelers in 2023 and got to watch and interact with all three of their quarterbacks. 

"I'm going to go with Kenny Pickett. I know the season was not what it should be. I agree it should and needs to be a competition because there is a new offensive coordinator coming in. But if I had to hand the keys over to a guy, it would be Kenny Pickett because one, we went out and drafted this guy as our franchise quarterback. It didn't end up playing out the way that we thought it would, we fired our OC and we're going to give everybody a fresh start. We got a new offensive coordinator in here, a new offensive mind with a new way of thinking on how to get the ball down the field and into important people's hands," said Peterson.

Pickett is entering his third season with the team after being selected with the Steelers' first-round pick in 2022. Since being drafted, he has drawn stark criticism, even being compared to infamous quarterback Bubby Brister. Some have said that they feel the Steelers sold out for the "boy next door" and shouldn't have been sentimental. 

The criticism is fair. During the two seasons he played, he completed 62.6% of his passes for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. That interception-to-touchdown ratio is not one that you want to be equal. Peterson believes strongly that the hiring of new Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith is going to make a big difference for Pickett. He adds that the ball is in Pickett's court so to speak if he wants to be the starter, he has to show it.  

"I think what he's going to have to do this offseason is he's gonna have to stand strong in the pocket and in my opinion, he's going to have to come in there and demand the offense. When I say demand, he's going to have to tell these guys what he's looking out for out of them, the receivers, the offensive linemen, the running backs. You are the head honcho, act like it, be it," added Peterson.

All indications coming out of Pittsburgh are that the job will be Pickett's to lose. But we did see Head Coach Mike Tomlin go in a different direction at the end of the 2023 season when he chose to start Rudolph over Pickett. That decision to stand by Rudolph gives others faith that the Steelers are truly open to a quarterback competition. 

This debate ignores the possibility that the Steelers might have a dark horse contender. With the release of Mitch Trubisky, the team will have to add at least one more quarterback either via free agency or the draft. There are a lot of names being thrown out there, but some of them, such as Peterson's former teammate Cousins, are not very realistic. 

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