The 2022 NFL Draft was supposed to be a legacy moment for Kevin Colbert, the Steelers outgoing general manager who played a big role in the team's two most recent Super Bowl wins. Colbert, who selected Ben Roethlisberger back in 2004, used his final draft as Steelers GM to select Roethlisberger's expected successor, Kenny Pickett.
Things doesn't turn out that way, however. Pickett lasted just two seasons in Pittsburgh before the Steelers decided to trade him to the Eagles this offseason. It's safe to say that Colbert doesn't like how the situation played out, especially reports questioning Pickett's character during his short stint with the Steelers.
"Kenny Pickett was a great team guy," Colbert told Steelers Depot. "I don't like the fact that he was portrayed as somebody other than that. Kenny gave us everything he had. He was always working with the team. He was very competitive, very tough. That was an unfortunate injury that pulled him."
Colbert was likely alluded to conflicting reports that Pickett refused to back up Mason Rudolph during the Steelers' win over Seattle in Week 17 of the 2023 season. Pickett emphatically denied those reports prior to Pittsburgh's regular-season finale.
"I saw reports that I feel were attacking, you know, my character and how I am as a person, not even getting to a player's standpoint of it," Pickett said, via The Athletic. "There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being a two. If I was healthy enough to play, the trainers and coaches felt like I was good enough to play, I was going to start and play. If they believed I was not, which they believed I was not, I was not going to dress and suit up for the game. So, whoever reported that, (I) don't know where it started, it's kind of crazy what people would write and put out there. To try to prove their point or help their standpoint or their careers -- and what you guys do.
"But I'm disappointed to see that, without any proof or basis of it. So, this week, I am now the two. They feel good four weeks out of the surgery for me to dress and be the two. So, I will be the two and do what I have to do to be ready to go for Baltimore. If there are any other questions about that, I feel I answered it pretty good there. If there's anything else or Baltimore questions, then we'll get on to Baltimore."
It was then reported that Pickett asked to be traded after the Steelers and Russell Wilson agreed to join forces this offseason. That, too, has come with conflicting reports, with Pickett reportedly stating that the Steelers assured him that they would not bring in an established veteran to compete against him.
"I just thought it was time," Pickett said upon being traded to the Eagles when asked about the end of his time in Pittsburgh. "It just felt like it was time, from things that transpired. I wanted to get a chance to go somewhere else and continue to grow my career."
One other interesting nugget from Colbert's quote in his alluding to Pickett's right ankle sprain that occurred during the first half of Pittsburgh's Week 13 matchup with Arizona. Pickett was coming off his best performance of the season during a win over Cincinnati. The injury, however, halted Pickett's momentum and opened the door for Mason Rudolph, who led the Steelers to three straight wins after replacing an ineffective Mitch Trubisky. How would things have turned out had Pickett not gotten injured? We'll never know the answer to that question.
While there's a lot of different perspectives about Pickett's time in Pittsburgh, it's safe to say that a fresh start was probably best for both sides, given how things played out last year. Pickett will now get a chance to show what he can do with the Eagles, while the Steelers are going all in with Wilson.
