While Cam Heyward openly recruited Kenny Pickett’s eventual successor (Russell Wilson) to come to Pittsburgh, the Steelers veteran defensive tackle feels his former teammate can still have a successful NFL career.
Heyward recently said as much when he was asked on X to divulge on the circumstances that led to Pickett being traded to the Eagles this offseason after just two seasons in Pittsburgh.
“Kenny is with [the] Eagles,” Heyward wrote, “and the future is still bright.”
Heyward’s comment reinforces the belief of some that Pickett still has potential despite things not working out in Pittsburgh. For his part, Pickett has embraced his new opportunity with the Eagles, where he will backup Jalen Hurts.
“It’s been great,” Pickett recently said of his initial months in Philadelphia. “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.”
It’s clear Pickett and the Steelers have no interest publicly rehashing what happened. One thing that is clear is that Pickett had no interest competing with Wilson for the starting job this summer in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the home of the Steelers’ training camp. Once the Steelers signed Wilson, Pickett’s days wearing the black and gold were numbered.
Pickett got his ticket out of town, and the Steelers continued re-vamping the quarterback room with the acquisitions of Justin Fields and Kyle Allen. Wilson, barring the unexpected, will be the Steelers’ starting quarterback when Pittsburgh opens up the regular season in Atlanta.
Pickett, 26, is surely hoping to eventually get another chance to be an NFL starting quarterback. During his time in Pittsburgh, Pickett won 58% of his starts. He had six fourth-quarter comebacks and seven game-winning drives while helping Mike Tomlin increase his record-setting streak of non-losing seasons to start an NFL head coaching career.
