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The Pittsburgh Steelers' decision to trade Kenny Pickett continues to age rather well.
During an appearance on 99.9 The Fan during ACC Kickoff, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi revealed that Pickett "begged" the Philadelphia Eagles to trade him last offseason a year after the Steelers sent him there alongside a 2024 fourth-round pick for a 2024 third-rounder, which was used on Payton Wilson, and two 2025 seventh-rounders, one of which became Donte Kent Jr.
"The Eagles did not want to trade him," Narduzzi said. "He begged to be traded because he wanted to compete, and he felt like he wasn't going to have a chance to beat out Jalen Hurts.
"I think there's some misconceptions about, 'They just got rid of him.' No. They wanted him to stay, and they said, 'We're not trading you.' And he begged, and they said, 'If it's good for us, we'll trade you. But if it's not good for us, we're not making that move.'"
Pickett also asked for a trade from the Steelers after the team signed Russell Wilson in March 2024. He won Super Bowl LIX as Hurts' backup during his lone season in Philadelphia before the organization granted his request and dealt him to the Cleveland Browns last offseason, where he lost out on the starting job to Joe Flacco and was subsequently traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, where he backed up Geno Smith.
In his first trip to free agency this offseason, the 2022 first-rounder signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth $7.5 million and will be the team's No. 2 signal caller behind former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.
Steelers Are Still Recovering, But Were Right to Move Pickett
Taking a quarterback in the first round always comes with plenty of risks, and the Steelers learned their lesson by reaching on Pickett at No. 20 overall in one of the weakest classes at the position in recent memory.
He wasn't exactly put in a position to succeed in Pittsburgh under offensive coordinator Matt Canada, but he didn't hold up his end of the bargain either.
In total, Pickett started 24 games for the Steelers and went 14-10 in those games while throwing for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and interceptions.
Pittsburgh knew it had to turn the page after bringing in Arthur Smith as its new offensive coordinator in 2024 and turned to Wilson after he was cut by the Denver Broncos, thus leading Pickett to ask out.
The Steelers also acquired Justin Fields via trade from the Chicago Bears that offseason, and while neither he or Wilson worked out, they were both better options than handing the reins to Pickett once again.
The franchise is still in quarterback purgatory, evidenced by their decision to bring Aaron Rodgers back for a second campaign, and missing on Pickett is a main reason why.
At the same time, Pittsburgh was right to cut its losses when it did.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/steelers/onsi as Steelers’ Kenny Pickett Trade Looks Even Better After New Story.
