Kenny Pickett Could Join Steelers Biggest Rival?

The Pittsburgh Steelers unceremoniously ended their Kenny Pickett experiment last March by trading him to the Philadelphia Eagles, but could they soon see him return to the AFC North?

With Pickett on the heels of winning his first Super Bowl ring after Philadelphia defeated the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend, CBS Sports' Aditi Kinkhabwala floated his name as a potential target for the Cleveland Browns this offseason during an appearance on 92.3 The Fan.

Just the mention of his name amongst a group of other quarterbacks such as Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo and Justin Fields drew a groan from hosts Ken Carman and Anthony Lima, but Kinkhabwala was quick to defend the Steelers' former first-round pick.

“You can’t just look at his stats in a vacuum,” Kinkhabwala said. “The two years that Kenny Pickett had in Pittsburgh were, arguably, the most dysfunctional offense that I’ve ever been around… in 15 years of covering the NFL.”

Between the 2022 and 2023 campaigns in Pittsburgh, Pickett threw for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions across 25 games (24 starts) while leading the team to a 14-10 record.

He never quite lived up to the billing after going No. 20 overall in 2022, but as Kinkhabwala stated, he wasn't exactly set up for success playing under offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

After signing Russell Wilson to a one-year deal last offseason, the Steelers sent Pickett and a 2024 fourth-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2024 third-rounder and a pair of 2025 seventh-round selections.

The 26-year-old, who grew up an Eagles fan, appeared in five regular season contests for the team and finished with 291 yards, two touchdowns and a pick.

Pickett's fifth-year option, set at $20.68 million, is a lock to get declined by Philadelphia, meaning 2025 would be his last year under contract.

The Eagles could look to keep him around as their backup to Jalen Hurts, or perhaps a team with a need for a signal caller will try and pry him away via trade.

The Browns would make sense as a suitor in that scenario given Deshaun Watson had surgery last month for a second Achilles tendon tear, and it's not as though he was anything close to an appealing option when healthy anyway.

Cleveland holds the No. 2 overall selection in next month's NFL Draft. Even if it were to land Miami's Cam Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, adding a veteran with starting experience like Pickett alongside one of them could be beneficial for a quarterback room that's otherwise barren at the moment.

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