The Steelers and Kenny Pickett appear to have had a disharmonious split.
The Steelers stunningly traded the former first-round pick quarterback to the Eagles on Friday, after finalizing their deal with former Broncos and Seahawks signal-caller Russell Wilson.
One report, from Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, painted Pickett’s reaction to the Wilson trade as the catalyst for his own ticket out of town.
“The Steelers made the move because of the way Pickett was poorly handling the arrival of Russell Wilson, according to sources,” Dulac tweeted.
“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.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter had also reported that Pickett “preferred” to move on from Pittsburgh after the trade.
In response to Schefter, CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala wrote about Pickett’s side of the story.
“NOTE: “preferred” is not [because] Kenny Pickett is running away from competition. He was explicitly told by the #Steelers Wilson would start, reneging on the pledge he’d been given that after two years of chaos, he’d finally be put in position to succeed – per sources apprised of convo,” Kinkhabwala tweeted.
The Steelers had a 14-10 record in Pickett’s starts over his two seasons in the NFL.
Last season, Pickett threw for 2,070 yards on 6.4 yards per attempt, tossing six touchdown passes and four interceptions in 12 starts.
The Steelers selected Pickett 20th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft after he starred at the University of Pittsburgh.
Pickett will be Jalen Hurts’ backup in Philadelphia.
Wilson signed a one-year deal with the Steelers for the veteran minimum.
His previous deal with the Broncos, who released the quarterback after two years and $85 million in dead cap, contained offset language.