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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH — Hours after quarterback Russell Wilson officially signed his contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team traded 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday.
The Steelers will receive a 2024 third-round pick (No. 98) and two 2025 seventh-round picks in exchange for Pickett and a 2024 fourth-round pick (No. 120), the sources told Schefter.
The value is similar to what the Washington Commanders got from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for quarterback Sam Howell, selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
With the move, Wilson is the only quarterback currently under contract for the Steelers. Pickett, who finished the season backing up Mason Rudolph, was expected to compete with Wilson in training camp for the starting job, but internally, Wilson was viewed less as a competitor and more likely as the starting quarterback, sources told ESPN. Because of that, according to sources, Pickett preferred to get a fresh start elsewhere.
Pickett, who grew up in New Jersey as an Eagles fan, will now back up Jalen Hurts with Philadelphia.
In a two-year career with the Steelers — following six seasons at Pitt — Pickett went 14-10 in 24 starts and completed 62.6% of his attempts for 4,474 yards. He also threw 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Once selected out of a subpar quarterback draft class to be the successor to Ben Roethlisberger, Pickett’s tenure was highlighted by a handful of fourth-quarter comebacks and marred by inept and stagnant offenses and injuries.
After a promising end to his rookie season, which began when he unseated Mitch Trubisky at halftime of the Week 4 game, and a sterling preseason, Pickett’s second year got off to a rocky start under offensive coordinator Matt Canada. In the first five weeks of the season, Pickett threw five touchdowns to four interceptions as the offense struggled to sustain drives. Canada was fired midseason, and after sustaining an ankle injury and undergoing TightRope surgery late in the season, Pickett didn’t see any action over the final five weeks of the regular season.