Report: Steelers Organization ‘Still Believes’ in Kenny Pickett

The Steelers still have a ‘lot of confidence’ in Kenny Pickett and plan on sticking with him in 2024, Ian Rapoport of NFL Networks reports. ESPN’s Laura Rutledge corroborated with a similar report, stating that the Steelers still view Pickett as a franchise quarterback.

“And then on the Steelers’ side of things, they’re talking about their quarterback situation, riding the hot hand with Mason Rudolph. Kenny Pickett, Mike Tomlin said is still the starting quarterback, but Mason Rudolph has given them a better chance to win. He’s put up points, he’s moved the ball,” Rutledge said.

As for Rapoport, he says that the Steelers remain confident in Pickett, enough to keep him into 2024 and expect him to be the franchise guy moving forward.

“Despite the fact that Mason Rudolph is going [today], my understanding is the organization does still believe in Kenny Pickett and in no way wants to move on from him after the season. Still a ton of confidence that he can be a franchise starter. It’s really just a matter of playing right now the quarterback that gives them the best chance,” Rapoport said.

From @NFLGameDay Kickoff: This offseason, Mason Rudolph shadowed congressmen and senators and spent time at architectural firms and commercial real estate firms — planning for life after football. Now, he's a starting QB with a chance to send the #Steelers to the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/BK66qMG6kV

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 6, 2024

Pickett is dressed as the backup this week, with Trubisky active as the emergency No. 3 quarterback. Rudolph will make his third consecutive start, despite Pickett being fully healthy. Now, Kenny Pickett is believed to be coming back in 2024 to start, which the team will see under a new offensive coordinator and likely, some more reinforcements on the offensive side of the football. 

Pickett has shown an aptitude for taking care of the football when in there, but still has rough edges that he must fix in his game. Pocket presence and processing are among those things, but how he looks in an environment outside of Matt Canada is virtually unknown. The team has seen him in just one game before he was injured.