Steelers OC Matt Canada Admits 2nd-Year QB Kenny Pickett Has Freedom To Change Plays At Line Of Scrimmage

It's been two weeks, and Pittsburgh Steelers fans are already in near-panic mode. The offense, expected to take a huge step forward in 2023, has looked as inept as ever through two weeks. Much to the dismay of the fan base, the franchise opted to keep Matt Canada around as the team's offensive coordinator for a third consecutive season. Despite an unsuccessful first two seasons in Pittsburgh, the team wanted some stability for quarterback Kenny Pickett.

For young quarterbacks in the NFL, instability within the coaching staff never helps. Just two games into the 2023 season though, and that continuity doesn't seem to be making any kind of difference. Canada has continued to struggle in his play-calling, as the offense ranks in the bottom of the NFL in a lot of major statistical categories. When speaking to the media on Thursday via ESPN's Brooke Pryor, Canada stated that Pickett has more freedom than he did in 2022.

"Kenny's got quite a bit of freedom to do things and get us where he wants to go. Kenny's been very involved in offense, and what we're doing, but at no point is this falling on Kenny. It falls on all of us," Canada said to media on Thursday. "We've got to put him in a position to make plays. We have to get the players around him to help him make plays. Quarterback gets all the credit and gets all the blame, and neither one is right and neither one is fair. We have to do everything better."

This has been an ongoing discussion, dating back to the early parts of the 2022 season. Veteran Mitch Trubisky started the first four games for the Steelers, but despite his prolonged experience in the league, he wasn't able to audible out of plays before the snap. To be fair, it was his first season with the team, so he was likely still unfamiliar with all of the terminology in the Steelers offense.

Still, it signaled that Canada wanted to run things his own way for a season. Even when the talented first-round rookie in Pickett took over, things remained the same. In Canada's first year as offensive coordinator, Ben Roethlisberger was the quarterback running the offense. In his 18th season with the team, Roethlisberger was in full control of the offense. As a result, it seemed like Canada wanted some of his own input on the offense in 2022.

Should The Steelers Continue To Give Pickett More Freedom?

Furthermore, it's important to remember that Pickett was still a rookie last season. Over the offseason, the talented quarterback made sure that he was ready to take that next step forward in his second NFL season. While that hasn't exactly happened on the field yet, he was selected as a team captain just ahead of the start of the season. It signified his progression as a leader and his readiness to truly become the franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh. 

In years past, this offense has been at its best when it goes no-huddle and picks up the pace. Not only does it make substitutions harder for the defense, but the quarterback has the ability to call his own play at the line of scrimmage. This again goes back to Roethlisberger's last season, as the offense thrived when he went no-huddle. While it's encouraging that Canada finally seems to be giving more freedom to Pickett, it has yet to show up in the results on the field. The offense has the perfect opportunity to fix that in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

What does Canada and this offense need to do in order to turn things around? How much more freedom do you think Pickett has in comparison to the 2022 season? When will you start to become concerned with the team's second-year quarterback?