Steelers legendary QB Terry Bradshaw rips Steelers over Kenny Pickett

Long time Pittsburgh Steeler great, and NFL analyst for FOX has spoken out on his former team. He criticized his former employers for not building around former quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Offensive instability in Pittsburgh

The Steelers brought in the home town hero, Kenny Pickett, who went to the University of Pittsburgh and played most of his home games at then Heinz Field. He was the 20th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, but things never panned out for Pickett in Pittsburgh.

In two seasons with the Steelers, Pickett helped the Steelers finish with a plus .500 record and took them to the playoffs in the 2023 season. Despite the team success, Pickett struggled to find a rhythm, throwing for 13 TDs and 13 INTs in his two seasons with the Steelers. Last year, the Steelers ended up bringing in two QBs, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and sent Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles where he won a Super Bowl backing up Jalen Hurts.

While the numbers might suggest Pickett struggled in his first two years in the NFL, former Steelers Super Bowl winning QB knows why. “A first-rounder, got rid of him after two years. And they’re still looking for a quarterback. They didn’t even do anything to build around him,” said Terry Bradshaw on the To The Point - Home Services Podcast. Bradshaw has been very vocal about his support of Pickett and criticism of the Steelers over the last few years.

Pickett now Steelers’ NFC North rival

Former Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada was fired mid way through Pickett’s first season, and Bradshaw said that there were many weapons around the young QB. On top of that, the offensive line kept Pickett constantly under pressure. “You draft a quarterback in the first round. He is going to be successful,” Bradshaw said. “But you’ve gotta surround him with the kind of talent he had in college. And they don’t do it, and they call him a bust.”

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It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been in a search for an identity on the offensive side of the ball for a long time. Since Ben Roethlisberger retired, and even before he hung it up, the Steelers have been one of the bottom feeders in the league on the offensive end. Now they will try to change that after finally investing in some talent on offense. Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf are on the forefront of the revolution as the Steelers look for their first playoff win since January of 2016.

After helping the Eagles win the Super Bowl, Pickett is now in Cleveland where he will have a chance to win the starting job. He will begin the QB competition in a few weeks as he looks to beat out Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Cleveland’s fifth round draft pick, rookie QB Shedeur Sanders.