This past offseason saw a slew of young quarterbacks get traded, giving them a change of scenery. The Pittsburgh Steelers not only traded their young quarterback Kenny Pickett but acquired a young quarterback, Justin Fields, hoping that he can provide a spark to an offense in dire need of one.
The Steelers made the decision to move on from Pickett and acquire Fields after signing Russell Wilson to a one-year deal.
Wilson was brought in with the intention to start, which led to Pickett's trade request to be sent elsewhere. That made sense to an extent, but Pickett can't be too thrilled about how the situation has played out.
The Steelers traded Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, receiving a third-round pick and a pair of seventh-round picks while also parting with a fourth-rounder before immediately replacing Pickett with Fields.
Pickett would've had to compete with Wilson and have a tough hill to climb, but at least he'd be involved in a competition, right? By being traded to Philadelphia, Pickett would not be involved in any competition. Jalen Hurts is their guy, giving Pickett no chance to see the field barring an injury to the starter.
To make matters worse, it's not as if Hurts is hitting free agency anytime soon. The 26-year-old is under contract through the 2028 season, giving Pickett little to no shot at starting games in Philadelphia anytime soon, again, without a Hurts injury.
Even with Wilson seen as the likely starter, he signed a one-year deal, never looked particularly good with the Denver Broncos, and is 35 years old. In all likelihood, this will be Wilson's one and only year in Pittsburgh, and there's always the chance he doesn't survive all of it as a starter.
Now, with Wilson dealing with a calf injury, there's a chance that Fields will start Week 1. If Fields does get the nod and plays well, perhaps he'll get more room to start other games and take over as the QB1 even if Wilson is healthy.
Had Pickett been traded to a team without an established starter, then sure, his request to get moved might've been fine in hindsight. Getting traded to the Eagles, though, gives Pickett no shot to ever play without an injury to Hurts. Now that there is a clear opening to play in Pittsburgh, Pickett has to regret asking out when he could've easily been their Week 1 starter. Hindsight is 20/20, but this also wasn't hard to see coming.
