Rumor: Kenny Pickett Refuses Backup Job

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has conflicting reports surrounding his name.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers demotion of Kenny Pickett is the hottest topic of conversation right now, and after conflicting reports emerged about why the team decided not to make him active against the Seattle Seahawks, it's important to lay out all the facts/claims we know. 

According to 105.9 The X's Mark Madden, Pickett refused to dress as the team's backup after learning that Rudolph would start in Week 17. Steelers Now's Derrick Bell made the same claim, reporting that sources told him that "Pickett made it clear to the team that he didn’t want to be dressed on game day."

Just got told that Pickett 100 percent refused to be the backup. That the Steelers writers know that but won't write it.

— Mark Madden (@MarkMaddenX) January 1, 2024

DK Pittsburgh Sports' Dejan Kovacevic has since reported that Tomlin and Pickett discussed the possibility of Pickett being the team's third quarterback against the Seahawks and it was "within that conversation" they decided not to make him active. Why? Kovacevic says it's because Pickett was not cleared until Thursday. 

It's unknown what report is true or if both have accuracy behind them. Head coach Mike Tomlin laid out what he could while also declining to detail how Pickett responded to the news that Rudolph was the starter. 

"I'll let him speak for himself. You guys can ask him when he has availability later in the week," Tomlin said. 

When detailing the decision to make Pickett inactive against Seattle, Tomlin said the following:  

"That clarity didn't come until later in the week, and it was about the distribution of reps and who was best prepared and positioned to help us win. And so, that's the direction that we went with."

"Because again, the likelihood of that coupled with the risk in terms of what I didn't see from him, it would've been speculating. And I just, you know, not into speculating."

When asked how Pickett was handling the situation, he said:

"Man, he is a competitor. He wants the football, he wants to play, but at the same time, he's a team player. And so, you know, our agenda is winning football games right now. And so, I'd imagine that's everyone's mindset." 

What side of the story, if either, is true we might not know until Pickett confirms it himself. But for now, we have as much detail as Tomlin was willing to hand out when discussing the demotion of his first-round quarterback. 

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