Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is not happy with reports that he refused to suit up for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks as a backup.
Pickett, who has been demoted to No. 2 quarterback behind Mason Rudolph, says he was inactive on Sunday because he hadn’t been medically cleared to return from ankle surgery. This week he has been cleared to play and says he’s ready to do whatever he has to do as Rudolph’s backup in a crucial game against the Ravens.
“I saw reports out there that I felt like were attacking my character and how I am as a person,” Pickett told reporters in the Steelers’ locker room today. “There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being a 2. If I was healthy enough to play, if the trainers and coaches felt I looked good enough to play, I was going to start and play. If they believe I was not, which they believed I was not, I was not going to dress and suit up for the game. So whoever reported that, I don’t know where it started, it’s kind of crazy what people will write or put out there to try to prove their point or help their standpoint or their careers or what you guys do. I’m disappointed to see that without any proof or basis of it. So this week I’m now the 2, they feel good four weeks out of the surgery for me to dress and be the 2, so I will be the 2 to be ready to go for Baltimore. If there’s any other questions about that, I feel like I answered it pretty good there, if there’s anything else, any Baltimore questions, we’re on to Baltimore.”
Pickett is surely disappointed that the Steelers are sticking with Rudolph, and that decision raises major questions about Pickett’s future in Pittsburgh. But now that he’s been told he’s Rudolph’s backup, he says he’s ready to accept that and get ready to be one play away.
