Was Kenny Pickett Set Up to Fail in Pittsburgh?
Things didn’t go well for Kenny Pickett on many levels during his two seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. The most glaring problem was his inability to put the ball into the end zone. His 13 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 25 career games is the lowest touchdown percentage in NFL history (1.8%, minimum 500 pass attempts).
Pickett didn’t perform like a first-round pick, but Mike Tomlin’s decision to not only hire Matt Canada to be the team’s offensive coordinator but to bring him back after the 2022 season was also a massive mistake. The Steelers really didn’t do Pickett any favors.
The Steelers fired Canada after a Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns. But the damage was already done.
According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, “multiple sources within the Steelers organization acknowledged” that Pickett “was placed in poor situations during his two years in Pittsburgh, and wasn’t given the adequate support required for a young quarterback.”
Warren Sharp of Sharp Football also believes the Steelers set up Pickett to fail.
“If you draft a QB in the first round, and then feed him to the wolves that are Matt Canada’s play calls as a rookie, and then don’t realize Canada sucks and keep him in 2023, guaranteeing another offseason without good offensive tutelage, and then fire Canada midseason, but replace him with a tandem of two coaches who have never called plays in the NFL before, what are you expecting that you’ll get?”
“I’m not pro-Pickett, but the way the Steelers “supported” their first round QB and hopeful heir apparent to Big Ben was embarrassing,” Sharp wrote in his new book 2024 Football Preview, via
It will be interesting to see how the Russell Wilson and Justin Fields experiment works out for the Steelers. If both quarterbacks fall flat on their faces, it will be back to the drawing board for Pittsburgh. Both quarterbacks are unrestricted free agents in 2025, so there isn’t a long-term commitment.
As for Pickett, he reiterated in a recent interview with Ben Istvan of the The Philadelphia Inquirer that he felt like a change was the best thing for him. On the heels of the Wilson signing, Pickett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a 2024 fourth-round pick in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-round picks. Pickett requested the trade.
“Change is a great thing. I’m going through it right now,” Pickett told Istvan. “I was in Pittsburgh for seven years and now I’m over in Philadelphia… I think a lot of people probably have some negative views on change, but that’s really just your outlook on it. I think if you keep a positive mindset, it’ll all work out for the better.”
The Steelers play the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 15. Unless Jalen Hurts suffers an injury prior or during the game, Pickett will serve as the Eagles’ No. 2 quarterback.
RELATED: Mike Florio Rips Idea that Kenny Pickett Narratives Are BS: ‘He Made Himself Look Bad’
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