The Steelers signed Russell Wilson and traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles
Pickett HOUSTON, PA The 20th overall pick went to Kenny Pickett, the quarterback whom Art Rooney II announced on April 29, 2022, as the person who broke all of Dan Marino’s collegiate records. He passed away six hundred and eighty-seven days later.
The trade of Pickett to Philadelphia does not herald a radical shift in philosophy within the traditionally loyal Pittsburgh Steelers organization, according to sources who spoke with ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The trade came only hours after the team welcomed Russell Wilson to their facility. That core principle of the franchise is, if anything, further reinforced. Additionally, it acknowledges that the group was incorrect.
Because of the team’s lackluster talent and the late intervention of intransigent decision-makers, Pickett was unhappy with Wilson’s signing and asked for a move. For some, it marked the beginning of a period that ought never to have begun. The organization’s unwillingness to build a clear succession plan behind Ben Roethlisberger is the real issue, not Pickett.
Instead of focusing on the present, the Steelers wasted time trying to rewrite the team’s history in an effort to cling to its glory days, which caused them to neglect future preparation.
The team is back where it started, almost two years after Roethlisberger’s much-anticipated retirement. Wilson is the driving force behind Pickett’s journey across the Commonwealth; by signing him, the Steelers avoid having to start from the beginning. Wilson may be past his prime at age 35, but he can still hold his own as a bridge quarterback, particularly after a season in which he tossed 26 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, he stated that he “felt like myself again.”
In light of the historically poor quarterback class in NFL history, the Steelers may have been better served to pursue this strategy two years ago. They came close, but the franchise drafted Pickett less than two months after signing first-round pick Mitch Trubisky to a low two-year deal, undercutting the veteran.
Obviously, had the Steelers spent a large amount of draft capital on the quarterback position, they may have avoided that situation. Rather, in 2018, the club used a third-round pick to choose Mason Rudolph. After the team’s wild-card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on January 16, 2022, Roethlisberger formally announced his retirement because he detested Rudolph’s selection. The Steelers did not employ a subsequent quarterback draft pick. It was obvious that Roethlisberger’s days were limited, despite his return to the field in 2020 and 2021 following season-ending elbow surgery in 2019.
But the organization mostly let Roethlisberger decide how his career would conclude. Rudolph and former first-round pick Dwayne Haskins were the team’s quarterbacks when Roethlisberger decided to retire. As of March 2022, Trubisky is a team member. Haskins passed away one month after beginning his career with Washington, despite showing signs of potential with a new beginning.
If the Steelers had selected a different quarterback in that year’s draft, the formula might have been successful. Like Patrick Mahomes shadowing Alex Smith for a year, Trubisky might have started the first season and then let a youngster develop in the background before taking over in the second. But the Pitt football legend and adopted son of the city? Using a valuable first-round pick on him? There was no way Trubisky could have won.
From the first day of training camp at St. Vincent College, the chanting for Pickett continued. After four weeks of the season, Tomlin benched Trubisky at halftime and unceremoniously started the youngster as the starting quarterback. In his rookie year, Pickett showed flashes of brilliance, guiding three comebacks in the fourth quarter. His grit and intangibles gave the Steelers hope that they had uncovered a hidden gem. Unfortunately, the magic dust faded after the preseason, which had been nothing more than a mirage. After his time with the Steelers came to a close, Pickett sat on the sidelines as Rudolph took the field for a playoff game.
The ruins of the Pickett aftermath may serve as a foundation for the Steelers’ stronger future.
No longer will the Steelers have to deal with a first-round quarterback who fails to live up to expectations thanks to Pickett’s departure. There is no longer any urgency for the club to decide on his fifth-year option in May 2025. Instead, the squad is down to a single quarterback, who took time out of his Friday afternoon to talk about how much he enjoyed coaching younger teammates and who assisted Jarrett Stidham, his likely replacement in Denver, in getting ready for his Broncos debut.
Additionally, there is a quarterback who was drafted in the first round available for trade; this quarterback would greatly benefit from an apprenticeship with a proven expert and Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Although the Steelers and their general manager, Omar Khan, publicly declared their “full faith” in their young, homegrown quarterback, trading for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields appeared highly unlikely before the trade of Pickett.
Now that Pickett is gone, the Steelers can put the past in the past and move forward with confidence, rather than wishing for a do-over.
In the two years since taking control after the 2022 draft, Khan has shown that he can break with Steelers history by making high-profile transactions and signing free agents. Just two weeks after voicing his confidence in Pickett in Indianapolis, Khan added that there will be “strong competition” for the job. Even while Khan smiled and answered reporters’ questions regarding quarterback trades and free agency, he made it plain that he had “an obligation to look at every avenue that’s out there to try to make us a better football team.”
The initial stage was on Friday.
