Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded former starting quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, which was a somewhat surprising move considering the team seemed to be planning to allow him to compete with Russell Wilson for the team’s starting job. But it sounds like there was a more private reason why Pickett was traded.
According to a report from Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Kenny Pickett after he began to seem displeased that the team decided to bring in Russell Wilson to compete for the starting quarterback role.
“Despite being 14-10 as a starter and getting to work with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Pickett was traded because of his behavior and expressed unhappiness over the arrival of Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, sources told the Post-Gazette,” Dulac wrote.
“The day after the Steelers agreed to sign Wilson, 35, Pickett canceled a scheduled out-of-town workout with the team’s wide receivers, according to sources. He has not been at the team’s South Side facility.”
Pickett emerged as the team’s starting quarterback by the end of his rookie season in 2024, but he did not have the success the team would have hoped to begin last season.
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