Steelers Trust Pickett, Won't Bring in Veteran QB as Competition

Highlights

The Pittsburgh Steelers are sticking with Kenny Pickett as QB1, ignoring the veteran options on the market, according to reports.
The team’s aging defense needs to try and maintain elite status while Pickett develops.
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith must make do with Pickett, despite preferring a QB with mobility and a stronger arm for his play-action heavy scheme.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for their commitment to their own players, a team-wide motto known by fans as the “Steeler Way.” Though a valuable sentiment that players have an affinity for, it can also get the team in some hot water when that loyalty blinds them to reality.

Per a report from The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo, the Steelers won’t be bringing in any of the big-name veteran quarterbacks available on the market this spring. As such, Kenny Pickett will remain the unquestioned QB1 in the Steel City for at least 2024.

It’s no doubt a frustrating development for Steelers Nation, and Pickett has done nothing to prove himself worthy of the kind of trust the Steelers’ organization is showing in him. Alas, as the team’s first-round pick in 2021 and the original heir apparent to Ben Roethlisbeger’s throne, it should be no surprise that Pittsburgh wants to give the signal caller one more chance to prove himself as the franchise quarterback.

Though the team does intend to bring back Mason Rudolph after he led the team to a playoff appearance by winning the final three games as the starter while Pickett was injured, he isn’t the long-term answer either. Will Pittsburgh’s stubbornness yield greater results for Pickett, or will it merely set the franchise back?

Kenny Pickett’s time as the Steelers’ QB could be coming to an end

The Steelers’ former first-round draft pick has been a game manager at best since taking the reins. Is it too late for Pickett to turn things around?

The Steelers are trying to straddle too many timelines

New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith reportedly has “high opinion” of Pickett

Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph — Credit: AP Photo/Don Wright

In DeFabo’s report, the Steelers apparently aren’t involved in the markets of the “core four” veteran quarterbacks who are expected to be available this spring:

Only Fields is under contract among that group, and he has just one more year on his rookie contract, though his fifth-year option still hangs in the balance.

Any of those quarterbacks would be an obvious and immediate upgrade over Pickett, though the two veterans – Wilson and Cousins – may be on different timelines than the Steelers currently are.

Cousins, Wilson, Pickett, and Rudolph 2023 Stats
Quarterback	Games	Comp.%	Yards	TDs	Interceptions	Passer Rating
Cousins	8	69.5%	2,331	18	5	103.8
Wilson	15	66.4%	3,070	26	8	98.0
Pickett	12	62.0%	2,070	6	4	81.4
Rudolph	4	74.3%	719	3	0	118.0

The Steelers have a supremely talented, but aging, defense, led by veterans Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt. The unit is more than Super Bowl-caliber after a sixth-place finish in points allowed (19.1 per game) in 2023, but they won’t be able to maintain their elite play forever. All of Heyward, Watt, and Patrick Peterson are in their 30s, while All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will be entering his age-28 season.

New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith (formerly of the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans) is apparently excited about his chance to work with Pickett, though that sentiment may be born out of acceptance rather than genuine joviality. For a guy who runs a play-action heavy system, having a veteran with more mobility and a stronger arm would certainly be preferable to Pickett.

For now, it looks like Steelers fans will have to get used to No. 8 taking the snaps from under center, at least for the time being. Rest assured, if Pickett flops again in his third year in the NFL, the Steelers’ tune will change about him and change would be certain come next offseason.

Source: Mike DeFabo

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.