Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers did the right thing by shipping quarterback Kenny Pickett to the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles, as Pickett moping around would not do the team any good. Tomlin just got rid of a potential huge distraction. Tomlin’s famous, “We need volunteers, not hostages” quote was implied here.
Florio blasted Pickett for his sense of entitlement, especially when he’s accomplished very little in his two-year career.
“Pickett has a sense, apparently, of entitlement and what has he done in 24 regular season starts? What has he done in throwing 13 career touchdown passes and 13 career interceptions to make him entitled to anything? His draft status is it, and he must not know much about the NFL, ’cause your draft status doesn’t mean jack diddly squat,” Florio said. “What matters is what you do when you get a chance to play. Guys play well, guys don’t play well, there’s been nothing he’s done that has made anyone say,’Damn! Wow! This guy could be special!’ He’s done nothing to make anyone say, ‘If he does that a few more times per game, he’s a Pro Bowler, he’s an All-Star, they’re a Super Bowl team.’ It’s been in spite of him that they’ve been competitive, not because of him.”
In his introductory press conference with the Philadelphia Eagles, Kenny Pickett revealed what happened in his departure from Pittsburgh, and he felt like he handled the situation the right way.
“I think the communication is what it is. It was behind closed doors. I’m confident with the way I handled it,” Pickett said.
According to Aditi Kinkwabwala of CBS Sports, Pickett was explicitly told by the Steelers that Russell 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. Pickett wasn’t pleased with the miscommunication and requested a trade.
Pickett also denied again the report that he refused to dress against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17 last year. He feels how it’s being portrayed is not true and everything that week went as it was planned
“There was a plan there for that game. It went down exactly the way it was planned that week,” Pickett said.
Ultimately, Pickett feels like it was just time for a fresh start after playing seven years in the city of Pittsburgh, accounting for his Pitt tenure. He’ll now get the chance to play for the franchise that he grew up rooting for in Ocean Township, New Jersey.
“I just thought it was time. It just felt like it was time from things that transpired,” Pickett said. “Wanted to get a chance to go somewhere else and continue to grow my career. The fact that it’s in Philly, the place that I found the love for the game. A great coaching staff, great players. Looking forward to meeting these guys in a couple weeks when everyone gets back in town. I think it’s an awesome opportunity to join this team.”
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