Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett reportedly has had a great start to his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles. One report even said he outperformed starter Jalen Hurts at OTAs.
According to Ed Kracz of Eagles Today, who covers the Eagles for Sports Illustrated, Pickett “looked sharp, sharper than Jalen Hurts, to be honest.” He also said the Eagles can win games with Pickett if something happens to Hurts.
“It’s been great,” Pickett told NBC Philadelphia 10 last month when asked about being in Philly. “Obviously, Jalen’s an incredibly talented player. He’s played in a similar system, and we’re kinda all learning this new one together. So the communication back and forth in the quarterback room has been awesome with the quarterbacks coaching us and Kellen (Moore). I couldn’t ask for a better room, better staff to be working with. Obviously, the talent around this team is pretty special, so it’s a great group to be in.”
Pickett’s tenure with the Steelers came to an abrupt end this offseason, as the first-round pick out of Pitt in 2022 wasn’t happy with the acquisition of Russell Wilson and requested a trade. The Steelers obliged and shipped him cross-state to Philadelphia.
In his introductory press conference with the Eagles, Kenny Pickett revealed what happened in his departure from Pittsburgh, and he felt like he handled the situation the right way. Pickett requested a trade following the Russell Wilson signing, as he felt like the Steelers were not honest with him in their intentions.
“I think the communication is what it is. It was behind closed doors. I’m confident with the way I handled it,” Pickett said.
Tony Racioppi, who has been Pickett’s private quarterbacks coach since college, doesn’t believe Pickett has a fragile ego or bad attitude.
“I would say the majority of those narratives were pushed by people. And they are 100 percent BS …,” Racioppi told NJ Advance Media this offseason. “I would put his leadership ability against anybody out there.” I will always believe in that kid. He has it. He has it physically. He has it mentally. He’s tough. He’s smart. There’s this work ethic to him. He has the talent and abilities. He has what you want. So much of that league is (the) right place, right time (and) wrong place, wrong time. There’s so many cases that point to that.”
The most glaring problem with Pickett in Pittsburgh was his inability to put the ball into the end zone. His 13 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 25 career games is the lowest touchdown percentage in NFL history (1.8%, minimum 500 pass attempts).
At the NFL owner’s meetings in March, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni discussed Pickett and what he would be asked to do with the team, which is purely a backup role.
“I’m really excited about the things he can do. I’m excited that we have a piece in place there. But his job is to be the backup, and his job is to support Jalen and help him in any way that he can and be ready to play if he needs to play,” Sirianni said.
Racioppi believes Pickett can get his career back on track in Philadelphia.
“(Kenny and I) both know, especially with the quarterbacks now in the NFL, there’s a long road if you do it right. The days of being 28 years old and out of the league are over. If you get a second opportunity and take advantage of it, you can turn (that) into another 10 years, eight years, whatever it’s going to be.”
“At the end of day, that’s what we’re hoping for, whether it’s in Philly or somewhere else. You’re looking for an opportunity at some point. And when you get it, you have to take advantage of it.”
