Former Steelers Offensive Lineman Thinks Kenny Pickett Should Be Furious And Asking His Agent For A Way Out

The Pittsburgh Steelers are prepared to sit down and talk with Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson based on a report from Gerry Dulac from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This has raised questions about what will happen with third-year man Kenny Pickett. The team has mentioned multiple times that they are planning for a competition at the quarterback position, but it is hard to imagine that Wilson would be willing to do that. 

Pickett did not perform as well as expected during his first two seasons with the team. On top of some performance issues, he also suffered some injuries that put him on the bench. However, after he was outperformed by third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph near the end of the 2023 season, he was benched in favor of the long-time backup. One former Steelers offensive guard, Ramon Foster, said he knows if he were Pickett, he would be angry and he would be asking his agent to get him out of Pittsburgh. 

Recently, Foster appeared on the Arthur Moats Experience podcast and spoke with his former teammate Arthur Moats and his co-host, Deke. They asked Foster, who does his own podcast called The Ramon Foster Show through DK Pittsburgh Sports, what his thoughts are on the quarterback situation. Foster said he believes Pickett has a right to be upset, adding that when he got hurt once and a backup had to come in for him, he knew that he would get his job back as soon as he was healthy. He said you can't call Pickett your "starter" and then essentially demote him.  

"Kenny's under fire because he was outperformed by Mason and then you got the Russ conversation happening. If I'm Kenny, I'll be honest with you, I'll be a little livid behind this because you told me I was the guy. It's a situation where you don't believe what they say you believe what they do. I'm hot. It becomes very problematic and sticky for Kenny and if I'm Kenny, because he can command it before it gets super bad, I'd probably be talking to my agent like, 'Can we find a way out somewhere?'" Foster said.

Foster mentioned the Steelers have openly said that they are committed to Pickett and if that's true, why do they have him looking over his shoulder? He added that the position of quarterback is a bit more fragile than other positions on the field and you have to handle it delicately. While it is true that backups sometimes overtake veterans, it isn't usually while the team is still saying "That's our guy."

The Steelers are in unfamiliar territory. When Foster and Moats were on the roster, the team had their guy in Ben Roethlisberger. For 18 seasons, they didn't have to worry about who would be under center. 

Steelers' Pickett Hasn't Lived Up To His Billing

It would be remiss to not mention that there were some things potentially working against Pickett these past two years, most notably how former Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada failed to develop any kind of offensive scheme. It is impossible to know if having Canada for two years stunted Pickett's development. Unfortunately, it is too late to put the genie back in the bottle and have Pickett learn behind a veteran or from a brighter offensive mind.  

In Foster's opinion, you aren't bringing Wilson in to be a backup. Wilson won a Super Bowl and almost won a second while he was with the Seattle Seahawks, and even though he is 35, he still feels like he has gas in the tank. He wants to play. Foster does understand the concerns about Pickett and his gameplay. 

"How I feel about Kenny is this, in his two years as a starter in Pittsburgh we have yet to see a game from him the way we've seen from Mason Rudolph in those last few weeks. I know you'll say he's got comeback games, yes he does, but over the course of a game has he commanded? Has he stayed in the pocket? Has he delivered? Has he had his wide receiver saying, 'Man I like him?' In the NFL, you're either getting better or you're getting worse when it comes down to that position."

Foster said that there have been some consistent complaints about the way Pickett plays the game, including rolling out to his left too quickly and messing up his offensive line. He said that and his lower completion percentage are his two biggest concerns regarding Pickett.

The team gave Rudolph the time and grace, according to Foster, to be able to develop. Pickett hasn't had that same amount of time. He was thrown right in as a rookie and expected to start after a few weeks. But regardless of how it happened, football is a business and teams want and need to win. Foster admits that if he was the general manager, he would be searching for a new quarterback. 

What do you think about what Foster said? Do you agree Pickett should be angry? Do you think he is angry? Do you think he should seek a trade? Would another team be interested in him? What do you think went wrong with Pickett's development? Do you think it was Canada, Pickett himself, or something else? Click to comment below. 

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