Pittsburgh Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw has voiced his strong support for Kenny Pickett to lead the team in the upcoming 2024 season, dismissing the notion of trading for another quarterback.
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Bradshaw emphasized his confidence in Pickett’s abilities, labeling him as the Steelers’ “guy” for the quarterback position.
When asked about his opinion on the polarizing Pickett, Bradshaw left no room for confusion, stating: “I love Pickett … Kenny Pickett is, I’ll tell you what Rich, I know him – I know him well. He’s fiercely competitive and he’s a tough-minded kid, things don’t bother him. I really like him a lot.”
Steelers legend and Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw has thoughts on what his former team should do at QB this coming #NFL season — stick with the guy they got:#HereWeGo #NFLCombine #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/2pdVEF4bjn
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 22, 2024
Bradshaw elaborated on Pickett’s readiness for the role, highlighting his poise and decision-making abilities, crucial traits for success in the NFL.
“Look, I’m going to say this for the 10,000th time this year, surround not only Kenny but any of these young quarterbacks with talent,” Bradshaw emphasized. “Why is [Brock] Purdy successful with the 49ers, Rich?”
“Look at all of that talent and look at that coach calling plays – and that kid’s got the poise. Kenny has the poise. I just want my quarterback to be poised.”
Kenny Pickett in the eyes of middle aged white guys with “fire Tomlin” in their bio pic.twitter.com/zHJjRqDH43
— Rico 🧃 (@SteelersRuinMe) February 20, 2024
While endorsing Pickett, Bradshaw also emphasized the importance of improving the team, particularly on offense to help set Pickett up to succeed.
“They’re going to beat him up and say they should trade for [Justin] Fields from Chicago. I’d say that’s a huge mistake,” Bradshaw said.
“You don’t need Fields, stay with what you got. Just get him another receiver, get him an explosive tight end, give him another [offensive] tackle, give him a guard. Have the ability to protect him and then get him guys on the outside.”
Fields in Pittsburgh fits like a glove. As much as Arthur Smith gets crushed (he's a much better OC than HC), his system is perfect for a guy like Fields.
— Paptherockies (@Paptherockies) February 23, 2024
Despite Bradshaw’s confidence in Pickett, he acknowledged the need for significant improvement from the young quarterback, hinting that failure to progress could prompt the Steelers to seek alternatives in the future.
“Pickett might be their guy for the 2024 season, but if he doesn’t improve greatly in his third season, the Steelers will be looking for a new starting quarterback come 2025,” Bradshaw concluded.
Nothing but facts on SportsCenter this evening.
“There needs to be competition as Mike Tomlin talked about. Really wouldn’t be a competition you trade for Justin Fields have him be your starting QB and Kenny Pickett at that point would be the back up” pic.twitter.com/IOoH0RZCqj
— Baku 🐧 (@Mazursky8895) February 22, 2024
Pickett is one of the more polarizing players in the league. While some Steelers fans still believe he has the potential to be their franchise quarterback, many have already given up on him.
With a defense as dominant as Pittsburgh’s, it would be shame for the team to continue to be held back by the offense, and in particular, the quarterback position.
Kenny Pickett about to throw 25 this season alone https://t.co/t0e4x5Gbce pic.twitter.com/V4xvGcANz3
— Josh (@90_Joshb) February 20, 2024
Where do you stand with Pickett?
Do you agree with Bradshaw that he has what it takes to be Ben Roethlisberger 2.0?
Or have you seen enough and think Pittsburgh should move on?
If so, who should the Steelers pursue as a replacement???
If Kenny Pickett is the Steelers quarterback in 2024 imma just… pic.twitter.com/TLBAVfSPED
— B (@nolimit__b56) February 14, 2024