Steelers may have been the source behind all the negative Kenny Pickett chatter

It has been over three months since the Pittsburgh Steelers granted quarterback Kenny Pickett's trade request and sent him to the Philadelphia Eagles. Nonetheless, the bad blood between the former first-round pick and the franchise that spent a Day 1 selection on him remains.

Pickett has not been shy about voicing how thrilled he is to be in Philly this offseason -- and away from the drama in Pittsburgh. He assumed considerable blame for the Steelers' offensive ineptitude, which is typical, considering he was the team's signal-caller. Nonetheless, the slander has reached a point that it feels personal, and recent intel suggests that may be the case.

On Thursday, Ray Fittipaldo of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was on The PM Team With Poni & Mueller. During his appearance, the Pickett saga came up, and the Steelers insider indicated it could be a smear campaign attempt by the organization. 

"It definitely does depend on who you're talking to within that [Steelers] organization," Fittipaldo said about the internal portrayal of Pickett. "[Some] who will have Kenny's [Pickett] back, and they'll tell you, 'Yeah, there were other people in that building who were talking bad about him.' I don't know if I want to go as far as character assassination, but the Steelers definitely got their word out there pretty quickly on what they wanted the narrative to be."

Steelers may have been the source behind all the negative Kenny Pickett chatter

While the Steelers possibly played a part in Pickett getting painted as the villain, the gunslinger did himself no favors. He couldn't hit the broadside of a barn in Pittsburgh, finishing near the bottom in completion percentage in his two seasons with the team. Fittipaldo, Fillipponi and Mueller allude to this during their conversation, even pondering the question raised by Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio: 

"Did Kenny [Pickett] need help to look bad?"

In 24 starts with the Steelers, Pickett somehow managed to compile more wins (14) than passing touchdowns (13). One could argue that's an impressive feat. Alternatively, someone can plead that it is a rather shameful stat and more reflective of how good Pittsburgh's defense and supporting cast are.

Like bowling legend Pete Weber declared during his retirement announcement: "Hate me or love me, you watched." Regardless of Steelers Nation's thoughts of Pickett, they bore witness to his tumultuous tenure in Pittsburgh.