Steelers legend expands on defense of Browns' Kenny Pickett

Before quarterback Kenny Pickett earned a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles in February, Pittsburgh Steelers legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw made it known he felt the Steelers "made a huge mistake getting rid of" Pickett. 

During a Tuesday appearance on Arkansas radio station 103.7 The Buzz, Bradshaw once again ripped the Steelers' handling of Pickett.

"I liked Kenny Pickett," Bradshaw explained, ESPN's Brooke Pryor shared. "I liked him at Pitt. I know him. I know what he's like. When they got him to Pittsburgh, they didn't protect him, they didn't get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn't have an offensive line that could protect, and they didn't have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of."

Steelers receivers had a history of generating unwanted headlines during Pickett's tenure with the organization, which began when the club made him a first-round pick in the 2022 draft. Diontae Johnson gave Pittsburgh headaches from 2019 up until he was traded in March 2024. More recently, the Steelers were "fed up" with 2022 second-round draft choice George Pickens before they sent him to the Dallas Cowboys. 

After the Steelers essentially replaced Pickett by signing veteran Russell Wilson in March 2024, the club used multiple draft picks to bolster its offensive line. Bradshaw thinks such moves should've been made before the Steelers gave up on Pickett. 

"...They throw a kid in there for two years, and you've got an offense that doesn't fit and doesn't work, and they can't run because their offensive line's not even good enough for a run-blocking team. Now, they're saying Kenny Pickett is a failure," Bradshaw added during his comments. "He wasn't a failure. The Steelers were a failure."

Bradshaw elected not to mention that Pickett more often than not failed to look like a franchise quarterback before longtime backup Mason Rudolph guided the 2023 Steelers to three straight victories and a playoff berth. Additionally, Pickett reportedly refused to dress for the Week 17 game of Pittsburgh's 2023 season because he was "very unhappy that he wasn't starting" after recovering from an ankle injury. 

Bradshaw also thinks it's "a joke" that the Steelers seemingly plan to have free agent Aaron Rodgers serve as their Week 1 quarterback in 2025. Meanwhile, Pickett will spend this summer participating in a four-way competition for the Cleveland Browns' starting job.