Small hands, big feelings: Reason for Kenny Pickett trade leaves Steelers justified

Kenny Pickett is more out on the Pittsburgh Steelers than Cosmo Kramer ever was in The Contest on Seinfeld. After taking one look at Russell Wilson, Pickett would rather sacrifice his body to science by jumping into the Allegheny than spending one day working with Mr. Unlimited. He will replace another noted quitter in Marcus Mariota as Jalen Hurts' backup on the NFC-contending Philadelphia Eagles.

News of Pickett being traded came as quite the shock. Ian Rapoport's bombshell shook us more than AC/DC's Back in Black on vinyl. The Fake Slide King was more Pittsburgh than Dave Wannstedt. Better known as The Fake Slide Diva now, Pickett is about to be the most disliked former Steelers quarterback than Neil O'Donnell. He could have just been Bubby Brister and on his merry way in 2026.

All offseason long, we heard that the Steelers wanted to bring in a quarterback who could challenge, but absolutely back up Pickett in 2024. That should have been Mason Rudolph, but the Steelers nuked that bridge they've torched two thousands times before, as he is now a member of the Tennessee Titans. While I understand adding Wilson for next to nothing, Pickett is such a draft bust...

To make matters even worse, Pickett comes across as a total brat, based on Gerry Dulac's latest intel.

Who knew that someone with such small hands could have such big feelings? The NFL is ridiculous.

Kenny Pickett went from a Pitt legend to a Pittsburgh villain in two years

Across the board, the Steelers set him up to fail. He banked a ton of starts at Pitt, but it wasn't until his redshirt senior season leading the Panthers was Pickett worth writing home about in college football. He had a tremendous last year at Pitt, helping Pat Narduzzi's team win the ACC. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy that year, but just suffered the same fate as did Desmond Ridder on Thursday.

While it has become even more important to have a high-end backup, as illustrated by some of the team's moves in free agency (Pickett, Ridder, Mac Jones, Gardner Minshew II, etc.), Pickett was a first-round pick and a homegrown product. I mean, he was in their freaking building, dude, and the Steelers completely blew it. Yes, Wilson is the better player, but the Steelers aren't a serious football franchise.

I think what this complete and utter debacle associated with the Steelers tells us is maybe there is a reason why teams like Pittsburgh don't often draft Penn State or Pitt guys. Yes, it would be unbelievable for Georgia legends to star for the Atlanta Falcons, LSU stars to thrive with the New Orleans Saints or Ohio State guys to go to Cincinnati or Cleveland. However, this is the downside...

Pickett could be in for a rude awakening with how simply delightful Philadelphia Eagles fans can be.