Football on the Brain: Kenny Pickett Didn’t Take Much Time Off this Offseason

UNITY TWP., Pa. — On Thursday, June 22, Tony Racioppi, a New Jersey-based quarterback skills coach that has worked extensively with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, tweeted out a video of Pickett throwing passes to wide receiver Allen Robinson.

Two days later, Pickett married his longtime girlfriend, Amy Paternoster, in a private ceremony in his home state.

RELATED: Steelers QB Kenny Pickett Marries Fiancée Amy Paternoster

A few days after returning from his honeymoon in Puerto Rico, Pickett was back to work on the South Side, throwing passes to Connor Heyward before reporting to training camp at St. Vincent College on Wednesday.

Pickett attempted to take time away from football to enjoy his wedding ceremony with friends and family in attendance and to get away with his new bride. But the second-year quarterback, in advance of his first camp as the team’s starter, had a hard time keeping football off his mind.

“The wedding, obviously, was great,” Pickett said. “I had former teammates, guys I grew up with and teammates that I have now there. I spent five days in Puerto Rico and then the football brain was turned back on. So it was like a week that I was able to enjoy it. Being so close to the season, I wanted to get back and get ready to go.”

Pickett is understandably excited about the 2023 season. For the first time, he’s been involved from the start in the planning and preparation as the team’s starting quarterback, and he said he already felt that difference in going through playbook installation in the spring with offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

So for Pickett, the chance to get back onto the field with his teammates in search of football glory has been at the top of his mind, despite a busy personal offseason that already saw him add one ring, and will now enter the hunt for another.

“I’m excited to get going,” Pickett said. “That’s always the goal.”