The Pittsburgh Steelers have made yet another extremely notable quarterback move in the 2024 NFL offseason, which has been an absolute frenzy of activity at the quarterback position. After signing free agent Russell Wilson to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million, the Steelers sent former first-round pick Kenny Pickett packing.
Pickett won't have to leave the state of Pennsylvania, however, as the Steelers have sent him to the Philadelphia Eagles per multiple reports.
Trade: Steelers are sending QB Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles in a pick swap, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2024
Once Pittsburgh signed Russell Wilson, Pickett preferred to move on. pic.twitter.com/cvsAP2e8lB
Kenny Pickett's preference to move on has landed him in a way worse situation than he was in before. Not that the Eagles are a bad team, by any means, but by landing in Philadelphia, Pickett has eliminated the possibility of being a starter (barring injury) for at least this next season.
The Eagles paid roughly the price of a fourth-round pick to get Pickett, sending the Steelers the 98th overall pick and multiple future 7th-round picks in exchange for Pickett and the 120th overall pick. It's not a bad value for the Eagles to get themselves a backup option behind Jalen Hurts, but that's all Pickett will be.
At least in Pittsburgh, there was a chance Pickett could have impressed the team in training camp and won the job over Russell Wilson. Wilson has been the quarterback of two really bad passing attacks over the last two season, no matter what the numbers say about his TD/INT ratio or QB rating. The Broncos' passing attack ranked near the bottom of the NFL for two straight seasons, and Wilson was barely trusted to throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage if he wasn't chucking it deep.
That's just the reality of the situation.
Pickett could have beaten Wilson -- who is only making $1.2 million this year -- and proved to Pittsburgh that they made the right decision in using a first-round pick on him. Instead, he's got his walking papers to Philadelphia, where the equipment staff will need to have his hat size memorized. We'll get plenty of looks at Pickett on the sideline this season.
Not that Pickett played great in his first two NFL seasons, but this situation is really a great example of how the grass is greener where you water it. The Eagles are a great team, and every NFL team should be ready to have their backup QB play significant snaps as 67 different players took the ball in 2023 at the quarterback position around the league. But even though Pickett might be called upon as a backup, he's likely sentenced himself to a "career backup" role after his reaction to the Russell Wilson signing.