The Steelers have their quarterback of the future under contract.
Pittsburgh has signed first-round pick Kenny Pickett to his rookie deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Pickett was the 20th overall pick of this year’s draft and received a standard four-year deal. The Steelers will decide on his fifth-year option for 2026 in the spring of 2025.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin recently said on The Pivot Podcast that he’s “excited about being uncomfortable” at quarterback with the competition between Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph. For all of Tomlin’s tenure, the Steelers had entered training camp with Ben Roethlisberger as the team’s QB1.
Pickett was regarded as the most pro-ready quarterback in the draft. He was the only signal-caller selected in the first round in 2022. Desmond Ridder was the next QB off the board to the Falcons in the third round.
With Pickett signing his deal, all of this year’s first-round picks are now under contract well before the start of training camp.