Quarterback ‘excited’ about opportunity with Eagles; Kenny Pickett leaves out the Steelers from his farewell email to Pittsburgh

Clearly, Pickett’s departure from the Steelers wasn’t amicable.

Pittsburgh had special meaning for Kenny Pickett, who attended the University of Pittsburgh and excelled there before joining the NFL as the main quarterback. Though he may not feel the same way about the Steelers, who moved him to the Philadelphia Eagles in the opening week of free agency with little fanfare.

It makes sense that Pickett would harbor animosity toward the Steelers, who dealt him after only two seasons and twenty-four starts. Before Pickett was apparently informed that Wilson would be the team’s starting quarterback in 2024, he was first told that he would face competition this summer.

Though Pickett had the option to stay and continue to battle against Wilson, in the end he felt that a new beginning would be better for his career. While filling in for Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia, he’ll have the chance.

During his time in Pittsburgh, Pickett also experienced an awkward position battle with Mitch Trubisky, inconsistent play at times from wideouts George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, and open statements from teammates expressing their preference for Mason Rudolph, who left the Steelers to test the market and signed with the Titans this offseason. In addition, there have been differing stories about whether or not Pickett truly declined to wear a suit for the Steelers’ Week 17 matchup with the Seahawks the previous season.

Pickett had some good moments during his tenure with the Steelers in addition to a lot of bad ones. After a 3-7 start, he assisted in leading the Steelers to a 9-8 finish in 2022. His game-winning touchdown pass to Pickens on Christmas Eve and his game-winning scoring ball to Najee Harris against the Ravens in Week 17 were two of the highlights during that time.

This season, Pickett overcame the Ravens once more with a touchdown pass to tight end Jake Pickens. In his second-to-last game as a starter for Pittsburgh, Pickett passed for 279 yards and helped the Steelers defeat the Bengals on the road.