Report Reveals Steelers' Mike Tomlin Deliberately Lied To 2022 First-Round Pick Kenny Pickett

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a pretty wild and entertaining 2024 offseason. There were multiple moves made by the front office, and the biggest storyline revolved around General Manager Omar Khan's clear plan to revamp the quarterback room. The team's first-round draft pick in 2022, Kenny Pickett, was seemingly given up on as Russell Wilson made his way to the Steel City as a free agent. The University of Pittsburgh product wasn't all too happy with the decision, which ended with his eventual trade to the Philadelphia Eagles. This opened the door for Khan and co. to go out and acquire Justin Fields.

There didn't seem to be too much love lost between the organization and Pickett. He was supposed to be the successor of legendary quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but wasn't necessarily put in the right situation. Matt Canada was extremely inconsistent as a play-caller and that, combined with some injuries to Pickett, hampered his chances to develop into a franchise-worthy signal-caller.

As time has gone on, some fans may not care about how the Pickett situation played out, but reports come out ever so often about his time with the Steelers. A recent one may concern the black and gold faithful in relation to how the organization went about communicating with Pickett entering the 2024 offseason. While discussing the current state of the quarterback position on 93.7 The Fan, Aditi Kinkhabwala noted that Head Coach Mike Tomlin may have been dishonest with Pickett.

"Justin Fields has played well, but he has not set the world on fire. I think it's very fair that Mike Tomlin wants to see what he has in Russell Wilson," Kinkhabwala detailed. "Whatever the reason, there's a reason he promised him the starting job when, quite frankly, Kenny Pickett was still on his roster and two weeks prior, he had told Kenny Pickett, "We're going to do everything to support you better than we have since you've been here."

This sheds a negative light on Tomlin. Things can happen quickly in today's NFL, but the Steelers had already known at that point that Wilson would be available to sign. It's interesting that there were allegedly comments made to assure Pickett that he was going to be supported, only to then have his head coach and franchise go out and sign a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

The idea in Tomlin's head of supporting Pickett may have been to sign a veteran to start so Pickett could work as a second-stringer until he was ready to be the starter full-time. It would be hard to buy into that idea, but Pickett could very well have simply been starting too early. Fields has done what he has been able to do with limited weapons on offense, but to say that any quarterback is supported currently would be improper.

The Steelers reached for Pickett even though he may not have been worth a first-round pick in 2022. The organization hadn't had to worry about the position in 18 seasons, and Tomlin had never developed a starting quarterback before. He took over when Roethlisberger was entering his fourth season and already lauded as the future of the franchise.

Kinkhabwala's comments are certainly intriguing. If Tomlin truly did tell Pickett that he was going to be supported better than ever, would anyone qualify a signing of Wilson as that promise being fulfilled? Fans may never get the firm answer, but it's fair to wonder if Tomlin was dishonest or not.

Steelers Still Have No Permanent Solution At Quarterback

While Fields is still young and with an upside, every signal-caller on the roster is only under contract through 2024. The team doesn't negotiate extensions in-season, so it's anyone's guess as to what will transpire in the coming months. Sitting at 3-2, the next couple of games could give fans a glimmer of hope for the future, or lack thereof. It's hard to believe that Pickett, or any other middle of the pack quarterback for that matter, would be thriving in the current offense.

Do you believe that Tomlin could have deliberately lied to Pickett? Let us know in the comments below!

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