The Pittsburgh Steelers are set at quarterback for the 2025 season, so long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy. He’s proven to be the least of the team’s problems early in the season, so his job isn’t in question.
The future is a bit murky at the position, but that’s largely because the franchise’s gamble on Kenny Pickett in 2022 didn’t pay off. Pickett is on his fourth team in three seasons, leaving his career in a strange limbo as a former first-round selection.
Nonetheless, another opportunity to take the field as a starter might be within reach this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans could see Kenny Pickett become a starter soon if Las Vegas' struggles continue
Bleacher Report recently highlighted the 10 hottest seats in the NFL, including players. None is hotter than Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, who has thrown a league-leading nine interceptions in just five games.
With Smith acting as a turnover machine, it’s looking more and more likely that head coach Pete Carroll will have to end his years-long experiment with Smith and turn to Pickett to salvage the Raiders' season.
For what it’s worth, however, Pickett may still have to wait a little longer for such an opportunity to come his way, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“The Raiders know Smith has to play better -- and soon -- but there's no sentiment that Smith is a broken quarterback. So I'm not expecting him to get benched or anything this week,” Fowler wrote this week. “The situation is obviously not good, but as was pointed out to me by someone with the team, Raiders coach Pete Carroll and Smith have enough sweat equity together from their Seattle days that Carroll could stick with him a little longer as a result.”
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Smith is on pace to throw 30 interceptions at this rate, and unlike Jameis Winston in 2019, he isn’t throwing 30 touchdowns to balance it out. The Raiders are 1-4 and are looking like a team on the brink of a spiral to a top-5 pick in next year’s draft.
Should that become more obvious, they’d be inclined to trot Pickett out as the starter eventually.
Of course, had Pickett not been traded to Las Vegas in the first place, he’d likely be the starter for the Cleveland Browns right now.
Regardless, Steelers fans likely haven’t seen the last of Pickett in the NFL. He had a solid stint as Philadelphia’s backup last season, winning his lone start and scoring three touchdowns. That bought him some patience in the league, but he’ll need to make the most of his next opportunity to preserve it. That won’t be easy in Las Vegas, given the circumstances, but it’s the only shot he’ll have in 2025.