Kenny Pickett’s future is updated by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Kenny Pickett’s future is updated by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pickett was tasked with taking over for two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger upon his retirement from the game in 2021.

However, Pickett hasn’t yet lived up to his full potential after attending the University of Pittsburgh, which shared athletic facilities with the Steelers.

His pre-draft program was marred by concerns about his hand size, and after entering the NFL, he hasn’t been able to play a full season because of injuries and inconsistent play.

After Mike Tomlin took over as head coach in 2007, there were rumors that the Steelers would eventually fire him in the summer. However, Tomlin was retained with the hopes that 2024 would bring greater fortunes.

The Steelers aren’t necessarily seeking to upgrade at the quarterback position, at least not by moving up, even if the 2024 NFL Draft is still a ways off. On Friday, general manager Omar Khan openly supported Pickett.

“I fully trust Kenny Pickett,” Khan said on the Steelers’ official website.

“There were undoubtedly some problems with the offense, and I’m looking forward to Arthur Smith’s influence on him.”

“I know Arthur’s very optimistic about Kenny and I know they’ve communicated and we’ll see where that goes, we feel really good about him.”

Smith was ousted as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons following a challenging two-year tenure, but he is currently back in the NFL.

Having been brought back to a position he thrived in in Tennessee, where he served as offensive coordinator for one season in 2019–2020, he will be joining the Steelers as their next offensive coordinator.

He’ll be trusted, like he was with Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, to extract the maximum performance from Pickett.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are unable to find a quarterback. The squad has had difficulty replicating the consistency that Big Ben provided them as quarterback ever since he retired.

Kenny Pickett was selected in the first round of the 2022 draft with the expectation that he would make a seamless transition from signal-caller, but his performance has not lived up to his last season of college football at the University of Pittsburgh.

In addition, Bradshaw said that it would be “a huge mistake” for the Steelers to trade for quarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears.