Saunders: Steelers’ Timeline for Kenny Pickett Didn’t Make Sense

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the Kenny Pickett Era on Sunday, as the team’s first-round draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft replaced Mitch Trubisky at halftime of the Steelers’ 24-20 loss to the New York Jets.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that he was looking to spark his offense that scored just six points while turning the ball over once in the first half against Jets.

Pickett seemed to do that, leading the Steelers to two second-half scoring drives, but also threw three interceptions, two not counting a Hail Mary on the final play, and at least one of which proved crucial in the Jets coming back to beat the Steelers in the fourth quarter.

Pickett undoubtedly showed his promise in leading the Steelers offense, and for the most part looked comfortable in his NFL debut. He made plays with his legs, he moved the pocket, and he seemed to bring some energy to an offense that has been too stagnant this season.

But the negative plays probably canceled out the positive ones on Sunday. Pickett’s first touchdown was gift-wrapped by a Minkah Fitzpatrick interception return to the 4-yard line. Otherwise, he led one long touchdown drive, and his interception on a pass to Pat Freiermuth in the fourth quarter while the Steelers were in field goal range turned out to be a 10-point swing after the defense couldn’t get a stop.

These growing pains are to be expected when playing a young quarterback, but Pickett’s learning curve probably didn’t have to be so steep.

He came into the game on Sunday having not taken starter’s reps — or nearly any reps at all — in practice for the last four weeks, including this past week, when the Steelers had 10 days between games after losing to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football.

Trubisky wasn’t that bad in that game, and was probably better than he was in the Steelers’ first two games. There wasn’t much sign that Tomlin was poised to turn to Pickett. But Trubisky wasn’t that bad in the first half against the Jets, either.

If there was a chance that more of the same from Trubisky would lead to Pickett playing against the Jets, why not just let him prepare with the extra time and start the game? Pickett said afterward that he had hardly any reps in practice over the last four weeks.

Now, if he’s named the starter — which somehow is a thing that hasn’t happened yet — Pickett will have only a regular practice week to prepare for the job and his first NFL start will come on the road, in one of the league’s most hostile environments in Buffalo, against one of the top teams in the AFC in the Bills.

The Steelers had two obvious places in their schedule to insert Pickett, one after the Browns game and the other after the Week 9 bye. It didn’t make sense to shove an unprepared Pickett into a game at halftime and it doesn’t make sense to have him start his tenure as starter with the toughest stretch of games the Steelers have this season, either.