Browns Rival, Steelers Part Ways With Former First-Round Quarterback

The Kenny Pickett experiment is over in Pittsburgh as Browns top rival, Steelers, ship the 2022 first-round pick to Philadelphia in trade.

The Kenny Pickett era in Pittsburgh is over before it really every began.

On Friday, the Steelers shipped the 2022 first-round pick east down interstate-76 to Philadelphia in a trade. Along with Pickett, Pittsburgh. sent a fourth round pick as the Eagles sent back their third round comp pick (No. 98) this year and a seventh round pick next year.

The move comes after the Browns' biggest rival finalized a one-year deal with veteran QB Russell Wilson. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette was the first to report the blockbuster move.

Steelers are trading QB Kenny Pickett to the Eagles, per sources.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 15, 2024

Initially, when news of Wilson's signing first emerged earlier in the week, Pickett was believed to be open to the idea of competing with the 35-year-old for the starting job. According to Dulac, those sentiments changed in the days since as head coach Mike Tomlin made it clear that Wilson was brought in to start, forcing the young QB into the backup job. 

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Pickett was reduced to a similar role at the end of last season. After injuring his knee against the Cardinals in early December the 25-year-old sat out the next four weeks due to the ailment but returned in time for Week 18. Tomlin wound up sticking with veteran backup Mason Rudolph under center instead of turning the offense back over to Pickett. 

Rudolph also kept the starting job for the Steelers road playoff game against the Bills. In the team's end of season press conference Tomlin reinstated Pickett as the team's No. 1 QB but also vowed to bring in competition at the position.

The Steelers made the move because of the way Pickett was poorly handling the arrival of Russell Wilson, according to sources. That came on the heels of Pickett's behavior last season when he refused to dress as the emergency third quarterback in Seattle in Week 17. https://t.co/mirLR1UJFP

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 15, 2024

A product of the university of Pittsburgh, Pickett became a feel good story when he was drafted by the Steelers. Already adored by Pittsburgh locals, there were high hopes of him becoming heir apparent to franchise legend Ben Roethlisberger. Instead, two short years later his tenure in the Steel City is already over.

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In two seasons, Pickett completed just over 62-percent of his passes, for a mere 4,474 yards. He threw the same number of touchdowns as interceptions, with 13 a piece.