In a completely shocking turn of events, the Pittsburgh Steelers have officially moved on from quarterback Kenny Pickett. The 2022 first-round pick clearly was not happy with the acquisition of Russell Wilson and will wear another uniform in 2024.
Adam Schefter of ESPN broke the shocking news on Friday afternoon. It was not expected, especially after Wilson discussed conversations he had already had with Pickett since signing with the Steelers.
Wilson will now be the only quarterback on the roster, but something else has to be going on. The first thing that has to come to mind is Justin Fields. He remains with the Chicago Bears despite the organization having the first overall pick. It's possible that General Manager Omar Khan is interested in having Fields as the long-term plan, and Wilson for the short-term.
Schefter detailed the terms behind the trade. It's safe to say that it isn't a bad haul for the Steelers in the slightest. Especially if the organization had no plans for him to be the future at the position.
The seventh-round picks in 2025 aren't as significant as the 98th overall. Pittsburgh ends up receiving a third-round compensatory pick and forfeiting one of their fourth-round picks. They both the 119th and 120th picks overall. This now opens up another huge hole on the offense. They have no answers at wide receiver in terms of depth, and now the signal-caller position faces the same problem.
The attention now has to turn to Fields. His market has run dry after several quarterback-needy teams have found answers. It also must make fans question why the Steelers allowed Mason Rudolph to walk in free agency. This is a developing story, but more will come out, and it shouldn't come as a surprise if Pickett and his agent asked to get out of the Steel City.
Steelers' Khan Is A Breath Of Fresh Air
Khan is not messing around. It's clear that he is restructuring the roster that Kevin Colbert began to put together before he moved on from being the team's general manager. Pittsburgh not enters the market to draft a signal-caller if they elect to stay away from acquiring Fields. Regardless, Pickett was none too happy about a veteran Super Bowl champion coming to town and that led to the franchise admitting wrong-doing by drafting him. It's a business, and Pickett just got his first taste of it.
Are you shocked by the Pickett trade?
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