The Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Kenny Pickett had a messy divorce after just two years. The 20th overall pick in 2022 was dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles with reports that he refused to back up Mason Rudolph in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks last season and his behavior after being informed of the team's acquisition of Russell Wilson. Pickett met with the media on Monday for the first time as an Eagle and tried to clear the air on what happened in Pittsburgh.
%202023%20Camp%20Final%20with%20Logos/2L9A5123-544x306.jpg "Steelers Kenny Pickett")
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Steelers quarterback, Kenny Pickett (#8) makes a throw during the team's 2023 training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Pickett said the contact between him and the Steelers on Wilson, which has become such a big story, was controlled in the best way he could.
"I think the communication is what it is," he said. "It was behind closed doors. I'm confident in the way that I handled it. I handled it the way I should've handled it."
Pickett was also asked about how the communication between him and the team was handled during the week that he reportedly refused to be the backup. He had initially denied the reports to media at the Steelers facility and stuck to his story.
"I think that goes back to a lot of the communication behind closed doors that you know didn't go the way that I feel like they went. How it's getting released [to the public]," he said. "There was a plan there for that game and it went down exactly the way it was planned for that entire week. I was coming off the ankle surgery. It is what it is."
The story that Pickett has stuck to is very different from the reports that he refused to be the emergency backup in Seattle. The truth likely lies somewhere in the weeds between the two narratives. The full story is still yet to be determined.
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Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph awaits the snap during Pittsburgh's 2023 Week 17 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
Unfortunately for Pickett, the last snap of his Steelers career was suffering an injury against the Arizona Cardinals. For both Pickett and the organization leaves more questions than answers as he exits for Philadelphia.
Steelers And Pickett Start Fresh
The Steelers are fully resetting the quarterback room with Wilson and Justin Fields. The team added the former Chicago Bears quarterback for a conditional sixth-round pick.
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Steelers quarterbacks Russell Wilson (left) and Justin Fields (right) meet on the field following a 2023 matchup with their prior teams.
Pickett gets to start over too with the team that he grew up cheering for. His potential path to playing time with the Eagles is much tougher than it possibly would've been in a competition with Wilson in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia has Jalen Hurts, who is only one season removed from leading his team to the Super Bowl and finishing second to Patrick Mahomes in the AP Most Valuable Player of the Year voting.
At the end of the day, things went sour for the Steelers and Pickett. The situation reached a point where it was best for both sides to move on. It's evident that the communication breakdown between the organization and the player created frustration in not just one situation, but two.
There are lessons to be learned for all parties in why this didn't work. For the Steelers, they'll be trying to find another franchise quarterback someday, whether that's Wilson, Fields, or someone else. Having an understanding of what ultimately transpired with Pickett should help them in that process the next time they go through it.
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