Eagles' Kenny Pickett: Confident in Way I Handled Russell Wilson, Steelers Situation

Kenny Pickett has no regrets about how things played out with the Pittsburgh Steelers before he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pickett said he's "confident" in how he handled things and he "handled it the way I should've handled it."

Rumblings about some discord between Pickett and the Steelers dates back to December when a report came out he didn't want to serve as the No. 3/emergency quarterback for their Week 17 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Pickett, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 13, denied the report that he refused to be the backup and said he wasn't medically cleared to play in time for the Seahawks game.

"There was no talk of me being a backup quarterback this week in terms of being a 2," Pickett said. "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."

Pickett again addressed that situation on Monday, saying the communication behind closed doors "didn't go the way that I feel like they wanted" with how it was getting released publicly.

After the Steelers' season ended with a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card round, head coach Mike Tomlin said Pickett would enter the offseason as their starting quarterback but they would bring in competition.

Mason Rudolph, who started the final three regular-season games and playoff loss, agreed to a deal with the Tennessee Titans in free agency.

Russell Wilson signed a one-year deal with the Steelers, which seemed to further the divide between Pickett and the organization.

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Pickett requested a trade after Tomlin informed him that Wilson "was in pole position" to be the starter next season and he would be taking reps with the first-team offense.

Pelissero's report noted Tomlin initially "promised" Pickett he would get a chance to compete for the starting job before learning about the Wilson signing.

The Eagles acquired Pickett from the Steelers for three draft picks, including a third-rounder in 2024. He will serve as the backup to Jalen Hurts next season.

Trading Pickett comes less than two years after the Steelers selected him with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 draft. He threw for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 25 games (24 starts) over the past two seasons.