Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers have been waiting to find out what the team will do with their quarterback position for the most of the NFL offseason.
Over the weekend, they might have received a response.
Arthur Smith conducted his first interview to become the Steelers’ offensive coordinator on February 3. During his interview with Missi Matthews of Steelers.com, Smith discussed developing a rapport with Kenny Pickett, referring to him as “the quarterback.”
Possibly even more significant, Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review brought attention to the fact that Mason Rudolph was not once addressed during the interview.
Despite the Steelers having previously stated that there will be competition, there is a perception that Pickett is already regarded as the team’s quarterback one due to the remarks made about him and the fact that Rudolph was left out.
For the Steelers, Pickett’s first two seasons have been dismal.
Although he has started in both seasons and gained a 7–5 record, his performances haven’t lived up to his record. “My relationship with Kenny needs to be developed,” Smith remarked. And between the quarterback and the play caller, that is extremely important. Since the quarterback is the one between the white lines, trust will inevitably develop on both sides on a daily basis.
In his 24 starts, he has only thrown 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In his starts, he also yields less than 200 passing yards a game on average.
It appears that the Steelers will give him one more season to establish his worth as their starting quarterback moving forward.
Pickett is under pressure, though. Since the Steelers haven’t won a postseason game since 2016, the team’s supporters and ownership are becoming agitated.
Despite closing the regular season with three straight victories, Rudolph was unable to guide the squad to the playoffs.
It was evident that he wasn’t the solution to halt the Steelers’ losing streak, but if Pickett doesn’t turn out to be the solution in 2024 either, the team will have to search elsewhere for a quarterback in 2025.
