Steelers' Kenny Pickett Brutally Ripped In Astonishing Hot Take That He Is Worst Quarterback In The NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in second place in the AFC North. They currently hold that position because of the tiebreaker with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers will be shorthanded on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans with Minkah Fitzpatrick out and Kenny Pickett planning to play with severely injured ribs.

Matt Canada is still employed, so Pickett must overcome injury and an inept offensive coordinator against the Titans. Steeler Nation still contains strong pockets of support for Pickett on social media. Canada has very little support outside his immediate family and possibly Chris Long. A surprising name might be joining Long in support of Canada after a vicious rant on 93.7 The Fan on Tuesday. 

The co-hosts of The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller, Chris Mueller and Andrew Fillipponi, have been on opposite sides of the Pickett question for most of the 2023 season. Mueller praised Pickett after the Los Angeles Rams game in Week 7, while Fillipponi was on paternity leave. After the performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it is safe to say that Mueller has changed his mind.

“Is it his fault though if Diontae [Johnson] drops the first pass of the game? If Kenny, who gave a tortured Benesque explanation for the goal line miss,” Mueller observes. “Some of the players have said they have got to execute better. So either they are doing the best job of toeing the company line in history, or they actually think this guy isn’t calling complete garbage all of the time.”

The Steelers offense is exceedingly young. Mueller may have missed the point that it might be intentional. The buzz on Canada is he is dictatorial and brutal to work with. Pickett, unlike his predecessor Ben Roethlisberger, does not have the intestinal fortitude to tell his offensive coordinator thanks, but no thanks, on bizarre play calls. Mueller suggests another reason for the second-year signal caller's struggles.

“I think his [Canada] play-calling is probably a D-, but that isn’t an F,” Mueller continued. “He might have the worst starting quarterback in the NFL. He might.”

“So Josh Dobbs is better than Pickett,” an incredulous Fillipponi interrupted.

“He might be, he can run,” Mueller retorted. “11 total touchdowns this year. Granted, he has 13 turnovers.”

It is stinging criticism of the current Steelers quarterback when Mueller considers the former third-string in quarterback in Josh Dobbs a better option. Pickett has done a good job protecting the football, but has benefitted from timely drops by the defenses he has faced. He could easily have doubled the four interceptions he has thrown. The Pittsburgh quarterback is supposed to be a game manager at this stage of his career, but he doesn’t get much opportunity to do that with the current game plan.

“If you’re the worst quarterback in the league, you’re not even capable when the game’s on the line of making big plays,” Fillipponi fought back. “You suck in all situations. You legitimately think Pickett is the worst quarterback in the league?”

Fillipponi, the biggest Pickett fan in the Pittsburgh media, was beside himself. Whether it was his passion or just Mueller realizing he had engaged in a scorching hot take, he began retreating on his assessment of Pickett.

“I think he is a bottom three or four quarterback,” Mueller said.

“So you watched Jimmy Garoppolo last night and think he might be better than Kenny,” Fillipponi asked. “Kenny might be worse than him?”

“Might be, he’s bottom three or four in the league,” Mueller responded. “Canada is bottom one. I think way more people, if we put that out to all football fans, more would be aligned with me than you.”

The argument was beginning to degenerate at this point, with Mueller slightly backing off when challenged, but then defiantly sticking to his observation that Dobbs and Garoppolo could be better than Pickett and only conceding that Mac Jones, Desmond Ridder, and Jordan Love were possibly worse options than Pickett.

“You’re saying this guy among 32 starting quarterbacks might be 32,” Fillipponi said. “Even though his fourth-quarter stats are better than guys like Patrick Mahomes. You can’t be the worst player at your position when you are great at something for a quarter of the game, and it just so happens to be the best quarter. If he’s in the conversation for worst in the league, you should be looking at all the quarterbacks in the draft right now.”

This isn’t the first time a media member has suggested that the Steelers should move on from Pickett. However, Pittsburgh should not easily dismiss his ability to win close games in the fourth quarter. Late-game magic can’t be taught, but a qualified coaching staff could get their hands on Pickett and make missing on Dan Marino look like an intelligent decision compared to giving up on Pickett early.

“If they have available to them a guy with a legit first-round grade in a year where there might be six or seven of those guys, yes, they should,” Mueller stated defiantly. “One of the worst is no exaggeration. He’s got an 80-passer rating. That’s not good. His QBR is almost 20 points lower than last year.”

“So you think he sucks,” Fillipponi responded, goading Mueller. “Why don’t you just say you think he sucks then if you think he is 32 of 32. He is in JaMarcus Russell territory.”

“I think for two-thirds to three-quarters of games, Kenny Pickett sucks,” Mueller blurted.  

Moving on from Pickett in just over one season would be disastrous. The Arizona Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen, gave up on him after one season, and moved on to Kyler Murray. The Cardinals now desperately hope they are bad enough to draft Caleb Williams and find a trade partner for a diminutive quarterback who would rather play video games than study the playbook, allegedly. It is doubtful the Steelers would follow in the Cardinals' footsteps and give up on Pickett before giving him a chance to work with a competent coordinator.

Steelers President Art Rooney II Detailed Reason For Keeping Matt Canada

The perception of Pickett being at the bottom of the NFL is an astonishing assessment, especially while sitting opposite Fillipponi. Mueller was backed into a corner, and his tone of defiance may have forced him into jumping with both feet into his mouth. The sad truth is that Art Rooney II and Mike Tomlin's decision to keep Canada under the guise of continuity has caused severe damage to Pickett's career.