The Pittsburgh Steelers missed big when selecting QB Kenny Pickett. They hoped he could be their next franchise quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger retired, but Pickett flamed out quickly, asking for a trade after only two seasons. The Steelers sent him to the Philadelphia Eagles, and he has bounced around the league since then, with the Eagles trading him after only one year. However, Pat Narduzzi, Pickett’s college head coach, revealed that Pickett could’ve stayed in Philadelphia.
“The Eagles did not want to trade him,” Narduzzi said recently on 99.9 The Fan’s YouTube channel. “He begged to be traded because he wanted to compete and he felt like he wasn’t going to have a chance to beat out Jalen Hurts.
“I think there’s some misconceptions about, ‘They just got rid of him.’ No. They wanted him to stay, and they said, ‘We’re not trading you.’ And he begged, and they said, ‘If it’s good for us, we’ll trade you. But if it’s not good for us, we’re not making that move.'”
Pickett was with the Eagles in 2024. They won the Super Bowl that year, with Hurts earning Super Bowl MVP honors. Philadelphia had just inked Hurts to a huge five-year deal in 2023. It didn’t look like Pickett had much of a chance at being the Eagles’ starter.
Pickett started one game with the Eagles in 2024, completing 10 of his 15 pass attempts for 143 yards and one touchdown pass. The Eagles won that game, so it’s easy to see why they’d want him to continue backing up Hurts.
Ultimately, Pickett got his wish, and the Eagles traded him to the Cleveland Browns in 2025 for backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick in that year’s draft. Pickett competed in a crowded quarterback room in Cleveland, but a hamstring injury hampered him. He didn’t win the starting job, and the Browns traded him to the Las Vegas Raiders before the season started.
Again, Pickett struggled to impress in his new home. He appeared in six games with two starts for the Raiders last year, throwing for 188 yards, one touchdown pass, and two interceptions.
Pickett is now with the Carolina Panthers. While he won’t be the starter this year, Narduzzi is still confident Pickett can turn his career around.
“Kenny Pickett’s an outstanding football player… He’s gotta find the right place, and I’m praying, with David Tepper and that staff here at Carolina, that this is the place… To me, it’s just getting the right fit… Kenny’s gonna be a great player for the Panthers.”
To be fair, Pickett hasn’t been in a lot of great situations. The Steelers’ offense was abysmal when he played for them. Neither the Browns nor the Raiders had much talent, either. The Eagles had a loaded offense but no path for Pickett to start.
However, there isn’t a clear path for him to start in Carolina, either. The Panthers drafted Bryce Young with the first overall pick in 2023. He took some steps forward last year, helping the Panthers make the playoffs. Pickett’s NFL career isn’t over yet, but his odds of becoming a consistent starter look slim.
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