Tim Benz: Kenny Pickett trade shows Steelers’ trust in Russell Wilson … and why we should never trust what they say
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On Feb. 29, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan said he has “full faith” in Kenny Pickett.
Steelers GM Omar Khan says he has “full faith” in Kenny Pickett pic.twitter.com/p3Ooefacoi
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) February 29, 2024
Now it’s March 15, and last year’s starting quarterback is a Philadelphia Eagle.
If that’s “full faith,” what does “half faith” look like?
When Mason Rudolph started to play well at the end of last season, the Steelers were so sensitive to Kenny Pickett’s feelings that they wouldn’t move Rudolph’s name to the top of the depth chart even when he had been announced as the starting quarterback.
Now they care so little about Pickett’s feelings that they removed him from the roster entirely.
According to ESPN, the Steelers shipped the 2022 first-round draft choice across the state for a late third-round pick (No. 98 overall) in the 2024 draft and two seventh-round picks in 2025. The Eagles will get Pickett and the No. 120 overall pick (Round 4) in this year’s draft.
That’s probably a good thing for Pickett, who clearly had fallen out of favor with Steelers management and coaches despite their protests to the contrary.
As a result, the franchise is all in on newly acquired veteran QB Russell Wilson as its starter. I have my doubts, but I do think he is at least an upgrade from Pickett.
You can believe the Steelers have made a wise move in that regard if you like. However, one thing is obvious when it comes to the Steelers: You can’t trust a single word they say on the record or even anything they leak off of it.
Steelers trade Pickett:
• Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Kenny Pickett failed and got what he deserved
• Steelers fans shocked, pleasantly surprised by Kenny Pickett trade
• From a hero’s welcome to a one-way ticket out of town, Kenny Pickett era brief for Steelers
• Steelers trade quarterback Kenny Pickett to Eagles
Just look at this Pickett situation. Beyond Khan’s comments, they built him up as much as they could since the season ended, only to spin him off for spare parts as soon as they landed a player that they deemed to be a better option.
• After the playoff loss to Buffalo, coach Mike Tomlin said he thought 2024’s starter was currently on the roster, and that Pickett would resume his “QB1” role.
What we have since learned is that if Tomlin really did think those things were true, it’s only because he had little faith that they could find anyone better. Or he just lied to the media again as he admitted he had done with his infamous “mojo” quote early in the season.
• A few weeks later, Art Rooney II threw his support behind Pickett as well when he had his usual season-ending sit-down with beat writers.
A few days after that, he downplayed the idea of trading for any other team’s quarterback. I guess technically that’s true because Wilson was signed as a free agent. But let’s not split hairs.
The organization does that well enough on its own.
• New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was interviewed on the team’s website about Pickett, and he gushed about how excited he was to work with the former Pitt QB.
“It’s exciting to hear the way that this offense is built with a lot of young players and, obviously, where Kenny Pickett is at going into his third year,” Smith said.
Well, “where he is at” now is the other end of the Pa. Turnpike.
• After the combine, NFL on CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala said on 93.7 FM that the Steelers coaching staff was taking all the criticism of Pickett to heart and was angered that people on the outside seemed to think he couldn’t get better under their guidance.
What should’ve been added to that quote is “… get better under our guidance, unless they pick up a guy who doesn’t need as much work.”
Look, I get it. Top to bottom, the franchise was publicly posturing. They were fortifying the position behind Pickett to make him as tradeable as possible. They were polishing an image of trust in Pickett for fans if efforts to sign Wilson or Kirk Cousins or trading for Justin Fields fell through.
Who knows, maybe those last two things happened before they decided to sign Wilson. I’m sure the Steelers would argue that. But, again, why should we believe them?
It’s not just the fans and media who have every reason in the world to take what the Steelers say out loud with a massive grain of salt. Beyond what Pickett and Rudolph had been told at various stages of this three-way QB melodrama, how about Mitch Trubisky? He was given only a three-and-a-half game shot as the starter in 2022.
Think he was given reason to expect more than that? I do.
How about Melvin Ingram, LeGarrette Blount and James Harrison (after his second stint in Pittsburgh)? They grumbled about a difference between the job description they were sold and what they were given.
Oh, and speaking of Rudolph, I wonder if he would’ve stayed in Pittsburgh as Wilson’s backup if Pickett had been moved before Rudolph signed in Tennessee. I’m curious to know if the Steelers ever considered that prospect.
However the Steelers choose to answer that question, the opposite is probably true.