Russell Wilson is officially QB1 in Pittsburgh as Kenny Pickett is out

Russell Wilson walked into Pittsburgh appearing to embrace a quarterback competition. But just after Wilson met the media for the first time as Steelers quarterback, the team pushed any potential threat to Wilson out of the way.

The Steelers did so by trading Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles in a swap involving multiple draft picks. It is the second trade of a third-year quarterback involving multiple draft picks.

Trade terms, per sources:

🏈Steelers get pick No. 98 and two 2025 7th-round picks.

🏈Eagles get QB Kenny Pickett and No. 120.

It’s a similar value to Washington got for Sam Howell. https://t.co/s6vhKIrZyR

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2024

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, Pickett “preferred to move on” in the wake of the Steelers’ decision to sign Russell Wilson. But a report from Pittsburgh reveals that the demeanor of Kenny Pickett played into that. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pickett was “poorly handling” Wilson joining the Steelers.

The Steelers made the move because of the way Pickett was poorly handling the arrival of Russell Wilson, according to sources. That came on the heels of Pickett's behavior last season when he refused to dress as the emergency third quarterback in Seattle in Week 17. https://t.co/mirLR1UJFP

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 15, 2024

Pickett was the Steelers’ first-round pick in 2022. The Steelers had their eyes on Pickett for years, as the team shares a training facility with the University of Pittsburgh’s football program. Pickett was a standout quarterback at Pitt before becoming the first quarterback selected in the 2022 draft.

All three quarterbacks who started in 2023 for the Steelers have now moved on. Mitchell Trubisky, who the Steelers cut in February, signed with Buffalo. Mason Rudolph, who ended up guiding the team in the stretch run after Pickett and Trubisky struggled, joined the Tennessee Titans as their backup quarterback earlier this week.

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