Getty Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett addressed why he wanted to leave the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett already said goodbye to Pittsburgh on social media. But he further addressed his departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers during his introductory press conference with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 18.
First, Pickett provided a few details to a question about why he wanted to leave the Steelers.
“I just thought it was time,” Pickett said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “It just felt like it was time from the things that transpired. Wanted to get a chance to go somewhere else and continue to grow my career.”
The Steelers traded Pickett five days after agreeing to a contract with quarterback Russell Wilson. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported the Steelers were planning to have Wilson receive the first-team repetitions at OTAs but then have Pickett compete with him for the starting role after that.
That was enough for Pickett to want out of Pittsburgh. Breer wrote that Pickett felt “misled” because Tomlin told him days prior to Wilson agreeing to his contract that there’d be an open competition for the job.
Pickett canceled a workout with teammates the day after Wilson agreed to his deal, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac.
Pickett, though, expressed no regret over how he handled his departure from the Steelers.
“I think the communication is what it is,” Pickett said. “It was behind closed doors. I’m confident with the way I handled it.
“I handled it the way I should have handled it.”
Kenny Pickett Addresses Report He Refused to Be Third-String QB
The Steelers signing Wilson may have been the beginning of the end to Pickett’s tenure. But problems with the Pickett-Steelers relationship stem back to Week 17 of the 2023 season.
TribLive.com’s Mark Madden reported on January 1 that Pickett “100 percent refused” to be the backup for the Steelers in their matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on December 31. Dulac, and multiple other Steelers insiders, have confirmed that report but added that it was the emergency third quarterback role Pickett refused to serve in.
Pickett was Pittsburgh’s backup in Week 18 and then in its playoff game the following week.
The 2022 first-round pick strongly denied Madden’s report on January 2. He addressed them again in his Eagles introductory press conference with a softer denial.
“That goes back to a lot of the communication behind closed doors,” Pickett said. “It didn’t go the way that I feel like they went, how it’s getting released.
“There was a plan there for that game, it went down exactly the way it was planned to go down that entire week. I was coming off the ankle surgery, so it is what it is. Like I’ve been saying, I’m very happy to be here.”
Pickett Refused to Serve as Steelers Emergency QB?
Before Pickett was traded on March 15, DK Pittsburgh Sports’ Dejan Kovacevic shared some interesting tidbits about what happened prior to Pickett not dressing in Week 17.
Kovacevic wrote that Pickett prepared throughout the week to either start or not play at all. As Pickett explained in his March 18 press conference, he was recovering from tightrope ankle surgery at the time.
On December 29, head coach Mike Tomlin announced Mason Rudolph as the starter that week. So, based on the original plan, Pickett wouldn’t play at all.
But Kovacevic reported on March 15 that once the team landed in Seattle that weekend, Pickett’s equipment was set up in his locker as if he would play.
“Questions were asked among all three quarterbacks before Pickett asked for a meeting with Tomlin for clarification,” Kovacevic wrote. “That took place without incident and it resulted in Tomlin, almost immediately, flatly declaring that Trubisky would suit up and Pickett wouldn’t.
“So, why would Tomlin not even list Pickett as the emergency third quarterback, a move that would’ve impacted nothing else?
“This is where it gets a bit muddier, in that Tomlin apparently just didn’t bother with it.”
In order to prepare to play, Kovacevic explained that Pickett would have had to undergo pain-killing treatment. From a player’s perspective, that’s not something someone would want to do just to be available in case of an emergency.
That’s not to say Pickett flat-out refused to do that. Kovecevic didn’t address how Pickett viewed potentially undergoing that treatment and then not play.
But Pickett saying on March 18 that Week 17 “went down exactly the way it was planned” throughout the week wasn’t really a denial that he refused to be a third-string quarterback. That’s because, based on Kovecevic report, Tomlin’s plan changed.
Pickett Says Goodbye to Steelers Teammates
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter much what happened prior to Week 17 and during the first week of free agency. Pickett and the Steelers are both moving on.
Pickett strongly expressed how excited he is to be with the Eagles. He grew up an Eagles fan in New Jersey.
Before his March 18 press conference, Pickett posted a farewell message to the city of Pittsburgh on Instagram. He then said goodbye to his Steelers teammates during his presser.
“I gave everything that I had there and loved all my teammates and the coaches that I came across,” said Pickett. “Some absolute great memories that I’ll take forever and life long friends.
“Talking to the guys after it all went down, just grateful for the time that we had together. Just wish everyone over there nothing but the best.”
The Steelers will make a draft selection 22 spots earlier in the third round thanks to the Pickett trade. Pittsburgh also received two 2025 seventh-round choices from the Eagles.