Steelers Legend Asks Major Kenny Pickett Question

Kenny Pickett, in all likelihood, will return to Acrisure Stadium in Week 6 and take on the Pittsburgh Steelers as a member of the Cleveland Browns this upcoming season.

While pondering about the type of reception Pickett can come to expect during his homecoming, former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger concluded that the team's fans will welcome him back with open arms rather than booing.

"If Kenny comes in, does he get booed or cheered?" Roethlisberger said on his "Footbahlin" podcast. "I think cheered."

Pittsburgh selected Pickett as Roethlisberger's successor with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The stars never truly aligned for him, though, leaving a sour taste in fan's mouths once his stint with the team unceremoniously ended by way of a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles in March 2024.

Pickett threw for 2,404 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions over his 12 starts as a rookie after taking over for Mitch Trubisky. Pittsburgh went 7-5 with him at the helm that year, which included a 5-1 stretch at the end of the season that was nearly enough to push the Steelers into the playoffs.

The excitement for Pickett was at an all-time high following an impressive preseason in 2023 that locked him in as the Steelers' No. 1 option at quarterback. The team opened the campaign with a 7-4 record, all of which were games he started, but the offense still wasn't humming along under coordinator Matt Canada, who was eventually fired ahead of Week 12.

Pickett later suffered an ankle injury in the Steelers' Week 13 loss against the Arizona Cardinals, which required surgery. Mason Rudolph grabbed a hold of the starting job in his absence, and although Pickett was healthy enough to return at the end of the year, Pittsburgh sidelined him in what was his coup de grace with the organization.

After winning a Super Bowl as Jalen Hurts' backup with the Eagles this past year, Pickett was sent to the Browns for fellow signal caller Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick in March.

Early reports out of Cleveland have suggested that he is the favorite to start once the regular season commences, though there's a long way to go before those plans are set in stone.

A pair of rookies in third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round selection Shedeur Sanders, as well as veteran Joe Flacco, will all push Pickett for first-team reps as the latter enters a contract year after his fifth-year option was declined.

The fact that Pickett is now suiting up for a division rival may persuade Steelers fans to jeer him, but there's also a portion of the group who are Pitt fans and remember the heights he brought the program to as a senior in 2021, guiding them to an ACC Championship while finishing third in Heisman Trophy voting.

Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how Pickett's offseason plays out with the Browns leading up to his Pittsburgh return.