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Kenny Pickett finds himself on the other side of the state of Pennsylvania after being dealt from the Steelers to the Eagles this offseason. Pittsburgh opted to ditch its former first-round pick in exchange for draft capital.
The move came after the franchise signed Russell Wilson on a league-minimum contract, effectively anointing him as the team’s new starter upon arriving from Denver.
Early reports claimed that Pickett wasn’t handling the addition well.
“The Steelers made the move because of the way Pickett was poorly handling the arrival of Russell Wilson,” said Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“That came on the heels of Pickett’s behavior last season when he refused to dress as the emergency third quarterback in Seattle in Week 17,” he added.
With the issue stemming back to last season, the bad behavior this offseason was apparently the final straw for Mike Tomlin. He quickly dealt Pickett to Philadelphia and picked up Justin Fields in his place.
Kenny Pickett, however, isn’t ready to take responsibility for the break-up.
He denied that reported poor attitude in a Philadelphia press conference as he gets acclimated with his new team.
In regard to the Russell Wilson signing:
“It is what it is. It was behind closed doors. I’m confident in the way that I handled it. I handled it the way I should’ve, but I’m excited to be here.”
Pickett says he handled the Russell Wilson signing the right way. Watch. pic.twitter.com/k7fTmlpoy4
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) March 18, 2024
Pickett seemed a bit irritable in the media appearance, for good reason given his name is being dragged through the mud by his former franchise.
He was also asked about that incident from last season:
“It goes back to a lot of the communication that was behind closed doors… There was a plan there for that game. It went down exactly the way it was planned to go down that entire week… It is what it is.”
Kenny Pickett denies refusing to suit up for the Seahawks game. pic.twitter.com/Gn4Su9Fmy1
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) March 18, 2024
Kenny Pickett clearly isn’t happy about the narrative that’s surrounded his Pittsburgh departure. The Eagles will host the Steelers in 2024, though the QB will likely be playing in a reserve role behind Jalen Hurts.