Kenny Pickett Rises on First-to-Be-Benched Odds List

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett shot up the leaderboard in terms of the first NFL quarterback to be benched this season, according to one sportsbook.

In odds posted on Tuesday by SportsBetting.ag, Pickett now has the seventh-highest odds of being benched first, at 10/1.

Ryan Tannehill of the Tennessee Titans has the best odds at 5/1, followed by Denver Broncos veteran Russell Wilson at 7/1 and Washington Commanders youngster Sam Howell at 8/1.

Howell dealt with an injury in Week 1. The SportsBetting.ag line exempts injury replacements.

Tampa Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Houston Texans rookie C.J. Stroud and Indianapolis Colts rookie Anthony Richardson are all tied for the fourth-best odds of being benched first.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, Sept. 23, 2022. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now

Mayfield is a journeyman who held off former second-round pick Kyle Trask, so his being benched at some point makes sense. Stroud and Richardson were top-five picks this year, so their benching would be a surprise.

Pickett has two seasoned vets behind him in Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, but the former first-round pick would likely have to have a catastrophic start to his season in order to be the first benched.

But he didn’t do much to prevent that outcome in the opener on Sunday. He started the game 5 of 8 for 9 yards while taking two sacks and throwing one interception in the time it took the San Francisco 49ers to race out to an early 20-0 lead.

The Steelers took four weeks to make a change from Trubisky in 2022, but he was playing much better than Pickett did on Sunday, so the pressure will be on the young starter to right the ship starting with Monday’s Week 2 matchup with the Cleveland Browns.

 STEELERS AFTERNOON DRIVE: Can Kenny Pickett Bounce Back?