Kenny Pickett finds himself on the other side of the state of Pennsylvania after being dealt from the Steelers to the Eagles this offseason. Pittsburgh opted to ditch its former first-round pick in exchange for draft capital.
Following Russell Wilson’s league-minimum contract signing and subsequent induction as the team’s new starter following his arrival from Denver, the team made this decision.
According to early assessments, Pickett wasn’t managing the addition well.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Gerry Dulac, “the Steelers made the move because of the way Pickett was poorly handling the arrival of Russell Wilson.”
He said, “That followed Pickett’s actions from the previous season, when he declined to wear the emergency third quarterback uniform in Seattle during Week 17.”
With the issue stemming back to last season, the bad behavior this offseason was apparently the final straw for Mike Tomlin. He quickly dealt Pickett to Philadelphia and picked up Justin Fields in his place.
Kenny Pickett, however, isn’t ready to take responsibility for the break-up.
He denied that reported poor attitude in a Philadelphia press conference as he gets acclimated with his new team.
In regard to the Russell Wilson signing:
“It is what it is. It was behind closed doors. I’m confident in the way that I handled it. I handled it the way I should’ve, but I’m excited to be here.”
Pickett seemed a bit irritable in the media appearance, for good reason given his name is being dragged through the mud by his former franchise.
He was also asked about that incident from last season:
“It goes back to a lot of the communication that was behind closed doors… There was a plan there for that game. It went down exactly the way it was planned to go down that entire week… It is what it is.”
Kenny Pickett clearly isn’t happy about the narrative that’s surrounded his Pittsburgh departure. The Eagles will host the Steelers in 2024, though the QB will likely be playing in a reserve role behind Jalen Hurts.
