PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from quarterback Kenny Pickett, trading the former first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles after some issues with the signing of Russell Wilson.
Once the trade happened, most in the media began analyzing the move and giving their thoughts on Pickett and how things came to an end in Pittsburgh. Plenty of analysts were critical. Then, the Kelce brothers joined in, discussing the move to the Eagles on their podcast New Heights.
“He just can’t leave the state of Pennsylvania,” Travis Kelce said. “The guy just loves Pennsylvania, man.”
Kelce then went on to add a personal touch to his discussion of Pickett, comparing the drama between the quarterback and the Steelers to a hit song by his girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
Kenny and the Steelers, their relationship ended in a little ‘bad blood,'” Kelce sang. “Kenny is saying he preferred to move on.”
Pickett was asked about the move during his first press conference with the Eagles but declined to get into detail about how everything went down.
“I just thought it was time,” Pickett said. “It just felt like it was time from things that transpired. Wanted to get a chance to go somewhere else to grow my career.”
The Eagles and Steelers will meet at some point during the season, likely sparking more Pickett talk. But for now, Pittsburgh is moving forward with Wilson and Justin Fields as their quarterbacks, and Pickett has taken his ‘bad blood’ across the state to Philadelphia.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have swapped quarterback Kenny Pickett and a fourth-round pick for a third and two seven-round picks with the Philadelphia Eagles. This trade is equal to an early sixth-round pick for Pickett, according to several trade charts.
This move suggests that the Steelers have lost all faith in Pickett, who they plucked from a local Pittsburgh college in the first round of the draft – a decision that raised many eyebrows at the time. Last season, Pickett struggled, scoring only six touchdowns and throwing four interceptions in 12 games, after a decent but not outstanding rookie season.
Many thought the 25-year-old would make big strides in his second year, but instead he went backwards and lost his starting place to Mason Rudolph. Now traded for a small draft compensation, Pickett joins one of the NFL’s most exciting teams, the Eagles.
However, he may find it hard to get much game time as he’ll be backing up Jalen Hurts. Despite Hurts’ struggles in 2023, the Eagles made him one of the highest-paid players in NFL history last offseason.
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